Pages

Search The Physics Blog

Monday, March 3, 2014

I Hate to Sound Dense, but...

As with light, so with sound. Well, not always, but there are a few parallels, and one of those parallels is speed. The material (or medium) that sound passes through affects its speed. How so?

For a benchmark, let's use the speed of sound in air at the beach in Malibu on sunny, 70-degree day -- 1,125 feet/sec (666 mph), also known as Mach 1.

How will the speed of a given sound change (FASTER, SLOWER, NO CHANGE) in the following scenarios:

...on top of Mount Everest?
...submerged in a pool?
...through a wall?
...in Florida (same air temperature as Malibu, at sea leavel, but much more humid)?
...in space?

Excluding space, pick the option above that you think will transmit sound waves fastest, and explain WHY.

61 comments:

  1. Everest- slower
    Pool- faster
    Wall- faster
    Florida- faster
    Space- none/"slower"

    The wall will transmit sound waves the fastest. As it is is a solid the particles are closest together, so therefore they can transfer energy faster

    ReplyDelete
  2. On Mount Everest, sound waves will be transmitted slower. Submerged in a pool, through a wall, and in Florida, the waves will be transmitted faster.

    Sound can be compared to heat. As we know, the more particles there are to transmit kinetic energy, the faster that object can heat up. Like heat, sound is transferred through energy. Therefore, sound waves are transmitted the fastest in the wall, where molecules are very dense and populous, as opposed to the given gases and liquids which don't have as many molecules in a given space.

    ReplyDelete
  3. on top of mount everest-faster
    pool-slower
    wall-slower
    florida-same
    space-none

    Mount Everest would be the fastest because there is thinner air up there causing less collisions between particles and having them move in their desired direction without collision and without causing heat.

    ReplyDelete
  4. On top of Mount Everest the speed of the sound would be slower.
    In a pool the sound would travel faster.
    Through a wall the speed of the sound waves would travel faster.
    In Florida the speed of the sound waves would travel faster.
    In Space there would be no sound.

    Through a wall is the fastest scenario because it has the highest concentration of molecules, which allows the wave to come into contact and collide with the molecules in the wall faster than air molecules which are more spread out.

    ReplyDelete
  5. On top of Mount Everest sound waves will be transmitted slower.
    Submerged in a pool, through a walll, and in Florida, sound waves will be transmitted faster. In space there will be no sound waves transmitted.
    Sound waves are transmitted the fastest through a wall because a wall is a solid with the most particles in a given area; thus, more energy is able to be transmitted more quickly since the particles are not as spread out as the other scenarios.

    ReplyDelete
  6. 1. Mount Everest- Slower
    2. Pool- Faster
    3. Wall- Faster
    4. Florida- Faster
    5. Space- No change

    Sound would be able to travel fastest through a wall. The wall has the highest concentration of molecules; thus, when the sound wave travels through the wall, it will collide faster with the wall molecules because there are many of them, and they are closer together. On the other hand, air molecules are spread out more, so the sound would travel slower through the air of Mount Everest, for example.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Mount Everest: Slower 

    Pool: Faster

    Wall: Faster
    Florida: Faster

    Space: No change

    Sound waves move the fastest through a wall because walls are solid and therefore have a lot of molecules in a given space. This causes the sound wave to come into contact with the molecules in the wall much faster than it does with air molecules because air molecules are much more spread out and dispersed.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Mount Everest- slower
    Pool-slower
    Wall-same
    Florida-faster
    Space- slower

    I think that in Florida sound waves will be transmitted fastest because it is the place with the warmest temperature. Warm air is dense with particles so that the sound can be transmitted from one to another more quickly than in cold air. If you were to yell something from the top of a cold snowy mountain, you would hear your voice echo because it took that long for the sound waves to travel around you; however, if you yelled in a warm climate, i.e. Florida, you would not hear an echo because the sound has already traveled as far as it's gonna go when you hear it come out of your mouth. Waves will move faster the warmer the environment.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. On top of Mount Everest: SLOWER
    Submerged in a pool: FASTER
    Through a wall: FASTER
    In Florida (same air temperature as Malibu, at sea level, but much more humid): FASTER
    In space: NO SOUND

    I think through a wall sound waves will transmit the fastest because the denser the material sound travels through, the faster the sound travels, like heat. The denser material (the wall) means there is more “stuff” (matter) in a give space (volume). Therefore, the vibrating sound waves collide with particles (which are much closer for denser materials, therefore the process happens quicker) and transfers its kinetic energy to other particles, and now those particles transfer new energy they just received and so on and so forth and this process happens faster with denser materials because the particles are much more closer together.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Mount Everest: Slower 

    Pool: Faster

    Wall: Faster
    Florida: Faster

    Space: No change

    The wall will transmit sound waves the fastest because since the wall is so dense with particles, the sound waves have a lot of substance to possibly bounce off of to transfer kinetic energy and create a fast moving sound. So, this means the wall will transmit sound fastest because of its density.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Mount Everest-Slower
    Pool-Faster
    Wall-Faster
    Florida-Faster
    Space-None

    The wall will transmit sound waves faster because it is a solid and contains more molecules in a certain amount of space. Plus, since there are more molecules, they are closer together. This means they can transfer energy quicker.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Mount Everest: Slower 


    Pool: Faster


    Wall: Faster

    Florida: Faster


    Space: No change

    I think that the wall will transmit sound waves the fastest. Since sound is transferred through energy and there is more kinetic energy where the molecules and particles are dense, the sound waves will be transmitted the fastest in the wall. The sound waves will also come into contact with the molecules in the wall much faster since they are so compact. Since air molecules are more spread out, it would take the sound longer to travel through water and air.

    ReplyDelete
  14. on top of Mount Everest:Slower
    submerged in a pool:Faster
    through a wall:Faster
    in Florida:Faster
    in space:Slower (possible no change)

    The wall would transmit sound waves fastest. Since the wall is so dense the sound waves are able to be transferred more easily.When the vibrating sound waves come in contact with the wall molecules it transfers kinetic energy to the dense particles and those dense particles continue to transfer energy. Since the wall is denser, the particles are more compact which makes the process of transferring kinetic energy happen faster.


    ReplyDelete
  15. Everest: Slowest
    Pool: Fast
    Wall: Fast
    Florida: Fast
    Space: No way to transfer sound

    Within the wall,particles are held together much stronger then these other examples. From this the solid connection that is being established allows for the actual sound to travel easier then in open scenario like Florida. Finally within the transfer of kinetic energy, like I stated before, the wall is solid, so the particles are able to move the kinetic energy easier and faster. Ultimately sound is delivered faster with the wall.

    ReplyDelete
  16. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The material that sound passes through affects it’s speed because it can cause sound to compress, which changes the speed and tone. On the top of Mount Everest the speed of sound will go slower. In a pool sound will be faster. Through a wall sound is slower. In Florida sound will have no change. In space sound will be slower. I think that in a pool sound will have the fastest speed because water does not compress so sound is compressed into each air bubble making it faster. The waves will be squished in each bubble making it have faster sound broken up in each air bubble.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Everest- slower
    Pool- faster
    Wall- faster
    Florida- faster
    Space- no change

    In solid objects, such as walls, the molecules are very compact and dense. Because there are more molecules in a given amount of space, the sound may travel through more molecules too. Similarly, a solid object, such as a metal rack, will feel hotter and heat up faster than the surrounding air. This happens because there are more molecules in the compact rack that are all heating up, as opposed to the widespread and less dense air, with less molecules heating up in the same amount of space. Like heat, sound travels the fastest through the denser objects with more molecules. Because a wall is solid to the touch and is very dense because there are many molecules in the given amount of space, it will transmit the sound the fastest.

    ReplyDelete
  19. On top of Mount Everest the speed of sound will be slower.
    However, submerged in a pool, through a wall, and in Florida the speed of sound will be faster.
    In space, there will be no change in the speed of sound.

    Sound will be transmitted through a wall faster because a wall is a denser material, meaning there is more "stuff" or wall particles present. Therefore, with more particles present there are more particles colliding together creating more energy. And because sound is transferred through energy, the more dense the object is the faster sound will be transmitted because more energy is being produced when more particles collide in a denser area. In contrast, Mount Everest will transmit sound the slowest because there is barely any pressure forcing the sound vibrations to occur.

    ReplyDelete
  20. Mount Everest- slower
    submerged in pool- faster
    through a wall- faster
    Florida- Faster
    Space- No change
    Sound waves are transmitted fastest through a wall. The wall contains the most particles in a given space, which means more density. Sound waves will directly come in contact with particles faster because there are more of them. Also, kinetic energy is transferred faster when objects are more dense.

    ReplyDelete
  21. On Top of Mount Everest- Slower
    Submerged in a Pool- Faster
    Through a Wall- Faster
    In Florida- Faster
    In Space- No Change

    The sound travels slower on Mount Everest due to the kinetic energy being used to create the vibrations. The low air pressure causes the sound waves to move slower because the air has less molecules and is less dense. Sound can be compared to heat in many cases because of the fact that it is also assciated with kinetic energy and the more dense something is the more heat it generates.
    The WALL will transfer sound the FASTEST simply because of the density of it and all of the millions of atoms being compacted into it. The more particles there are in a given space, the more energy is produce, which means the faster the sound travels. The density of the solid wall allows more particles to create energy, therefor causing the sound to travel faster... :)

    ReplyDelete
  22. Mount Everest: Slower
    Pool: Faster
    Wall: Faster
    Florida: Faster
    Space: No change

    Sound waves move the fastest when passing through a wall because a wall has a high concentration of molecules therefore making it the most dense. More stuff is in a given space makes it more dense and the transfer of kinetic energy also happens quicker because of how compact they are and continue to transfer energy.

    ReplyDelete
  23. Mount Everest: Slower
    Pool: Faster
    Wall: Faster
    Florida: Faster
    Space: Nothing

    The wall will transfer sound the fastest due to the compact molecules. The more molecules there are, the more energy is transfered, therefore emitting the sound faster.

    ReplyDelete
  24. On Top of Mount Everest: slower 

    Pool: faster

    Wall: faster
    Florida: faster

    Space: no change

    Sound waves will move the fastest through a wall because walls are solid and have a lot of molecules compacted into the space. These molecules transfer energy easier because of their closeness with each other.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Mount Everest - slower
    Pool - faster
    Wall - faster
    Florida - faster
    There is no sound in space.

    Sound will transfer fastest through a wall because of the density of a wall. A wall has a large amount of particles in a confined space, making it easier for the energy of the sound waves to be transferred through the wall.

    ReplyDelete
  26. Mount Everest: slower
    Submerged in pool: faster
    Through a wall: faster
    Florida: Faster
    Space: No change
    Sound waves are transmitted fastest through a wall because the wall is the most dense and has the most molecules tight together. Sound waves will make direct contact with particles faster because there are more of them. Also, kinetic energy is transferred faster when objects are more dense.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Mount Everest: slower
    Pool: faster
    Wall: faster
    Florida: faster
    Space: no change
    In walls, since they are solid objects, the molecules are dense and compact. Also, since there are more molecules in a given space, the sound may travel through more molecules as well. A solid object will similarly feel hotter and heat up faster than the air around it because there exists more molecules in the rack that are heating up, compared to the less dense air, with less molecules heating up in the same space. Sound travels similar to heat: the fastest through the denser objects with more molecules. Since a wall is solid and very dense since there are lots of molecules in the given amount of space, it will send out the sound the fastest.

    ReplyDelete
  28. Mount Everest: faster
    Pool: slower
    Wall: slower
    Florida: same/no change
    Space: faster

    On the top of Mount Everest sound waves will transmit fastest due to the lower density. Sound waves travel in lower density mediums.

    ReplyDelete
  29. Mt Everest: slower
    Pool: slower
    Wall: same
    Florida: faster
    Space: same

    Florida will be the fastest because it has a warmer temperature and with this warmer temperature, particles will be compact. Since particles are compact, sound waves will be transferred faster due to the close contact of the particles.

    ReplyDelete
  30. On top of mount everest- slower
    Pool-faster
    Wall-faster
    Florida-faster
    Space-no change

    Because air is least dense on top of Mount Everest, the molecules are more spread out and open, therefore it takes longer for them to collide with sound waves, so they will reach you slower.

    Contradictorily, through a wall, through a pool, or through Florida, the molecules are more concrete therefore more tightly packed together, making it easier and more frequent for particles to collide with the sound waves and they will reach you faster.

    ReplyDelete
  31. Mount Everest: Slower 


    Pool: Faster


    Wall: Faster

    Florida: Faster


    Space: No change

    Density, or amount of molecules in a given amount of space is a determining factor in how fast sound can travel. Being that the molecules in the wall are compact, it has a high density and there is more kinetic energy within the wall. In turn, the sound waves go through the wall and transmit sound the fastest similarly to the concept of the transfer of heat.

    ReplyDelete
  32. 1. Mount Everest: slower
    2. Submerged in a pool: faster
    3. Through a wall: faster
    4. Florida: faster
    5. Space: no change

    Mount Everest will transmit the slowest sound particles as its low air pressure causes the sound waves to travel slower due to fewer molecules and less density. The more dense a material is, the more “stuff” in a give space and the more energy transferred, which transmit the sound faster. When sound waves collide with wall particles, for example, kinetic energy is transferred to denser molecules and speeds up the process, as these particles are more compact. As a result #3, through a wall, will transmit sound waves the fastest.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Mount Everest- Slower
    Pool- Faster
    Wall- Faster
    Florida- Faster
    Space- No change

    A wall would transmit sound waves the fastest because there is more "stuff" present in the dense material. Similar to heat, sound travels fastest through more molecules. In this case, the wall has the most molecules for the sound to travel through. Mount Everest would transmit sound waves the slowest because it has less molecules present.

    ReplyDelete
  34. 1. Mount Everest: Slower 


    2. Pool: Faster


    3. Wall: Faster

    4. Florida: Faster


    5. Space: No change
(no air particles)

    The wall will transmit sound waves fastest because of its great density. Sound, like heat, travels by transferring energy through each and every particle; if there are a lot of tightly compacted particles, the energy will flow through faster and more efficiently. Each particle bounces off the next, so the wall (with the greatest density) has particles transfer the energy the fastest because of the smaller distance between each particle.

    ReplyDelete
  35. Mount Everest- Slower
    Pool- Faster
    Wall- Faster
    Florida- Faster
    Space- No change

    Like heat, sound travels the fastest through more molecules/"more stuff" when the molecules are tightly compacted. If the particles are tightly compacted, the energy can travel through the particles faster and more efficiently. The wall transmits sound waves the fastest because it has the most density and the most molecules in a compact space, allowing the energy to travel quickly. Mount Everest has less molecules, resulting in the sound waves traveling through slower.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Mount everest-slower because there are less air molecules for the sound waves to bounce off of.
    Pool-Faster, because the water molecules are more dense
    Wall-Faster-because the wall has a greater density, allowing the sound to travel through more particles.
    Florida-same, because it is close to the temperature in Malibu and has a similar amount of air particles.
    Space-slower-there are no air particles, thus there is nothing for the sound waves to transfer through.

    ReplyDelete
  37. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  38. Mount Everest: Slower 

    Pool: Faster

    Wall: Faster
    Florida: Faster

    Space: No change

    Similar to heat, sound travels fastest through more molecules, and the wall will transmit sound waves the best because the wall dense and has the most particles or "stuff" inside; therefore, the sound waves have a lot of particles to bounce off of allowing a transfer of kinetic energy which creates a fast moving sound. Finally there are less air molecules for the sound waves to bounce off of at Mount Everest causing it to be the slowest.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Mount Everest -Slower 

    Pool - Faster

    Wall - Faster
    Florida - Faster

    Space - No change

    The wall will transmit sound waves the fastest because it has the greatest density. Because there are more particles closely knit together, the sound waves are given more energy to bounce off of.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Mount Everest -Slower 

    Pool - Faster

    Wall - Faster
    Florida - Faster

    Space - No sound

    Sound waves travel through the wall the fastest, because there are more particles to transfer the kinetic energy through.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Mout Everest: Slower
    Pool: Faster
    Wall: Faster
    Florida: Faster
    Space: No change

    A wall will transmit sound the fastest because there is more stuff, or more molecules that make up the wall because it is very dense. Much like heat when an object is very dense, the molecules transfer quicker when they are closer together.

    ReplyDelete
  42. Everest- slower
    Pool- faster
    Florida- faster
    Wall- faster
    Space- No change
    Because the wall has so many molecules so close together, the Kinetic energy of the sound waves transfer much more quickly, and much more easily. Therefore making sound travel fastest in the wall.

    ReplyDelete
  43. The speed would move faster on top of mount everest, slower in the pool, slower in the wall, the same in Florida, and not at all in space.

    I think the wall would go the fastest because it'll transmit sound waves the quickest because it has the most density. Since molecules are so close to each other it can transfer much easier.

    ReplyDelete
  44. Mt. Everest = Slower
    Pool = Faster
    Florida = Faster
    Wall = Faster
    Space = No Change

    The wall will be fastest. The wall has the most molecules and they are all very close together. The sound waves have more to bounce off of. The sound can gain more and use less kinetic energy since the molecules are so close together.

    ReplyDelete
  45. The sound at the top of Mount Everest would be slower because the temperature is colder and there are fewer air particles for the sound to bounce off of. Unlike at the top of a mountain, the pool and the wall would transfer the sound much quicker because of the vast amount of solid particles for the sound to vibrate and transfer energy through. In Florida, the sound would travel faster because of the humidity meaning that there are a lot of air and water particles in the air for the KE of the sound to bounce off of the particles. In space there would be no chance of sound because there is no presence of anything for the sound to bounce off of and for the energy to transfer to a point. The wall would be the fastest because it's dense form provides for a huge amount of particles for the sound particles bounce off and vibrate on to transfer the energy.

    ReplyDelete
  46. The speed of sound would be slower at the top of Mount Everest because the absence of heat makes the air less dense, so there are fewer molecules for the sound waves to bounce off of. The speed of sound would move faster in a pool because water is denser than air, so there are more particles for the sound to bounce off of. Speed moves fastest through a wall because it is the most dense. Speed would also move faster in Florida because of the humidity. The extra water molecules present in the air, make the air more dense, and therefore sound moves faster. Lastly, there is no sound in space because there is no medium for the sound to travel through.

    ReplyDelete
  47. On Mount Everest it would be slower. Submerged in a pool, the sped of sound will be faster. The speed of sound will faster through a wall. It would be faster in Florida. In space, the sped of sound would be slower. The wall would transmit the sound waves the fastest because the denser an object is, the faster the kinetic energy would be able to travel as it has more particles to bump into.

    ReplyDelete
  48. Mt. Everest- Slower
    Pool- Faster
    Florida- Faster
    Wall- Faster
    Space- No Change

    The Wall would be the fastest because the wall has the most molecules packed in close together, which makes it dense. These molecules tightly packed together will create the most kinetic energy, and sound will move the quickest. Sound can transfer through the wall the easiest because of the large amount of molecules packed together.

    ReplyDelete
  49. On Mount Everest, the speed of sound would be faster because there is less air particles at a higher altitude. That is why people who climb Mount Everest have to wear oxygen masks in order to breathe at a higher level. For instance, the speed of sound is non-existent in space because it is airless up there thus, there is no sound. In a pool, the speed of sound is faster because the molecules are compacted tightly and the even though the sound is mumbled the noise still travels at a faster rate. In Florida, the speed of sound is faster because it is more humid, and heat and sound are forms of kinetic energy. And at higher temperature there are more molecules vibrating making it faster for sound to quicker. Sound travels fastest through a wall because it is dense object allowing the compacted particles to bounce the vibrations around at a faster rate.

    ReplyDelete
  50. Wall = Faster
    Pool = Faster
    Florida = Faster
    Mt. Everest = Slower
    Space = No Change

    The wall would be the fastest because it contains the most molecules in a given space making it extremely dense. The kinetic energy would also be able to travel extremely fast as it has more particles to bump into. Similar to heat, when an object is dense, the molecules transfer quicker when they are close together.

    ReplyDelete
  51. Mount Everest: slower
    Pool: Faster
    Wall:Faster
    Florida:Faster
    Space: No Change

    Sound moves faster in the more denser materials such as water and the wall because sound is caused by vibrations and the transfer of kinetic energy. In denser materials there is more stuff to vibrate and collide causing more transfer of energy. Therefore sound moves faster.

    ReplyDelete
  52. On Top of Mount Everest = Slower
    Submerged in a Pool = Faster
    Through a Wall = Faster
    In Florida = Faster
    In Space = No Change

    Through a wall, the more dense the obstacle is it helps the sound waves travel faster and last longer because of the molecules are closer together which makes it easier to transfer the Kinetic Energy to one another.

    ReplyDelete
  53. 1. Mount Everest- Slower 

    2. Pool- Faster

    3. Wall- Faster

    4. Florida- Faster
    
5. Space- No change

    Sound travels fastest through a wall because the wall has the highest concentration of molecules. Because of the high concentration, the sound waves travel through the wall, it will collide quicker with the molecules of the wall because there is a large amount of them and they are so close together. The sound uses less kinetic energy because the molecules are closer together. On the contrary, on Mount Everest, the sound would travel at a slower speed because there are fewer air molecules that are spread apart in even greater distances. This causes the sound wave to dissipate and lose energy faster as it tires itself out jumping from one air molecule to the next.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Everest- slower
    Pool- faster
    Wall- faster
    Florida- faster
    Space- none/"slower"

    Sound will travel fastest through a wall because there is more mass, so the particles can bounce off one another because they are so close therefore they move much faster.

    ReplyDelete
  55. on top of mount everest-faster
    pool-slower
    wall-slower
    florida-same
    space-none
    Sound will travel the fastest through a wall because the wall has a greater mass, so therefore the particles can bounce off each other, which makes the sound move faster

    ReplyDelete
  56. Mt. Everest Slower
    Pool Faster
    Wall Faster
    Space Nothing

    Sound is the transfer of energy through vibrations, with more particles to come in contact with it is faster and easier for the sound to vibrate because it has more contact points in denser objects like a wall.

    ReplyDelete
  57. - Mount Everest: Slower 

    - Pool: Faster

    - Wall: Faster

    - Florida: Faster
    - Space: No change

    Sound is caused by the transfer of kinetic energy. In order for kinetic energy to be transferred, particles must collide: whether that be molecules of water or two surfaces rubbing together (just like heat!). The wall is the most dense--the molecules within the wall are the closest together relative to the other substances mentioned. The sound will travel fastest through the wall because as a dense substance, there are more opportunities for sound-wave contact.

    ReplyDelete
  58. a) Everest - Slower
    b) Swimming Pool - Faster
    c) Wall - Faster
    d) Florida - Faster
    e) Space - Slower, i.e. no movement

    The wall will transfer the sound the fastest because, as the wall is the most dense, the particles are closest together and can thus transfer the sound energy the fastest.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Mount Everest-Slower
    Pool-Faster
    Wall-Faster
    Florida-Faster
    Space-slower

    Particles must bounce off one another to create sound. The more dense the object is that the particles collide with, the more sound. Therefore, the wall would be the most dense, thus creating (transferring) sound most efficiently.

    ReplyDelete
  60. Everest: Slower
    Pool: Faster
    Wall:Faster
    Florida: Faster
    Space: Slower

    In order for something to have sound, it's waves must bounce off the particles of the nearest object. The more particles and object has, the better, and the more it collides.

    ReplyDelete
  61. Mount Everest: Slower 
because there is less molecules at that high altitude.
    Pool: Faster
 because there are more molecules in a given space.
    Wall: Faster because there are more molecules.
    Florida: Faster
 because the humid sore makes the air more dence.
    Space: No sound
    Sound is created through the wave colliding with molecules. Thus, the more molecules the more sound there is. The wall is the most dence element above.

    ReplyDelete