Question

A student performs an experiment by ringing a bell in the air and in a pool and measuring the time it takes for a friend to hear the bell. In one or two sentences, make and justify a hypothesis on which medium the friend would hear the bell the fastest.

Answer 1

Hypothesis: The friend will hear the bell faster when it is rung in the pool. Sound travels much faster in water (~1500 m/s) than in air (~340 m/s) because water has a much higher bulk modulus (is less compressible), so pressure waves reach the listener sooner.