Question

The speed of sound in steel is equal to:
(a). 340 m/s
(b). 1500 m/s
(c). 3270 m/s
(d). 5100 m/s

Answer 1

- Hint: Sound travels faster through solids than air.

Complete step-by-step solution -

Speed of sound mainly depends on the medium through which they are traveling. Out of the three states of matter, sound travels slowly through the gases. It will be very fast through the solids. That’s why we are listening to the sound of trains through rails faster than the air. For steel the speed of sound will be more than 5000 m/s. Hence the option (D) is

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

For gases, the sound moves only when the collision of molecules happens. This will create the condensations and rarefactions. Temperature is also affecting the speed of sound in air. In liquids, sound travels faster than in gases since the molecules are tightly packed. As we know several aquatic animals are living and communicating with the help of sound. For solids, sound travels very fast than any other state. In solids, molecules are very close together than any other states. In steel sound can travel 17 times faster than through air. However, some exceptional solids are also there.
The closest molecules and tighter bonds will take less time for the passage of sound. Velocity of sound wave is affected by two main properties of matter; density and elastic properties. Following equation shows that relation where $\rho$ is the density and ${{C}_{ij}}$ is the elastic properties of the matter.
$v=\sqrt{\dfrac{{{C}_{ij}}}{\rho }}$

Note: Steel is a rigid material and it experiences smaller deformations, hence it is having large elastic properties. The density is also higher for steel. These properties make steel as a fastest medium for sound transmission.