Sound 2 Answers / Explanation

The speed of a sound wave would be dependent solely upon the properties of the medium through which it moves.

true

A more rigid material such as steel has a higher elasticity and therefore sound tends to move through it at high speeds.

true - A more rigid material is characterized by particles which quickly return to their original position if displaced from it. Sound moves fastest in such materials.

Sound waves would travel faster on a warm day than a cool day

true - The speed of sound through air is dependent upon the temperature of the air.

In general, sound waves travel fastest in solids and slowest in gases.

true - This is because the closer the particles of the medium the faster the speed of sound

A highly elastic material has a strong tendency to return to its original shape if stressed, stretched, plucked or somehow disturbed

true - This is the definition of elasticity > the ability of the particles of a material to return to their original position if displaced from it.

The speed of a wave within a guitar string will be doubled if the tension of the string is doubled.

true - v = SQRT (Ftens/mu). From the equation, it is evident that an increase in mass per unit length (mu) will result in an decrease in the speed; they are inversely related.

A loud shout will move faster through air than a faint whisper.

false - A loud shout will move at the same speed as a whisper since the speed of sound is independent of the characteristics of the sound wave.

The fastest which sound can move is when it is moving through a vacuum.

false - In the vacuum of space there is no air, without air there are theoretically no medium for the sound to disturb

If all other factors are equal, a sound wave will travel fastest in the most dense materials

false - Sound waves (like all waves) will travel slower in more dense materials (assuming all other factors are equal).

Sound waves travel fastest in solids (compared to liquids and gases) because solids are more dense.

false - Sound waves travel faster in solids because the particles of a solid have a greater elastic modulus. This means that if a particle of the medium disturbed from its rest position will rapidly return to its rest position

The speed of sound moving through air is largely dependent upon the frequency and intensity of the sound wave.

false - The speed of sound is depends on the medium not the characteristics of a wave

The speed of a sound wave depends upon its frequency and it's wavelength.

false - sound is a material constant and it therefore only depends on a number of properties of that medium thus a change in frequency or wavelength will not alter the speed

The speed of a wave within a guitar string varies inversely with the tension in the string.

false - the equation for the speed of waves is v = SQRT (Ftens/mu). From the equation, it is evident that an increase in tension will result in an increase in the speed; they are directly related.

A shout in a canyon produces an echo off a cliff located 127 m away. If the echo is heard 0.720 seconds after the shout, then the speed of sound through the canyon is 176 m/s.

false - the sound travels a distance of 254 m (to the cliff and back) in 0.720 seconds. That computes to 353 m/s.