Rank the speed of sound through the following from greatest to least:A. HeliumB. Benzene C. Mercury
To rank the speed of sound through different materials, we need to compare their respective speeds. The speed of sound in a substance is determined by various factors, including the density and compressibility of the material.
In this case, we are comparing the speed of sound for three substances: Helium, Benzene, and Mercury. To determine the ranking, we need to compare their respective speeds of sound.
One way to compare the speed of sound is to look at the values directly. However, since the actual values may vary depending on temperature and pressure, a more reliable approach is to compare the ratios of the speeds.
To find the relative speeds of sound, we can use the formula:
Speed of sound = √(elastic modulus/density)
The elastic modulus measures the stiffness of a material, and density measures its mass per unit volume. By comparing the ratios (√elastic modulus/density) of the substances, we can determine their relative speeds.
Finding the exact values for the elastic modulus and density of Helium, Benzene, and Mercury may be quite involved, as they can vary with conditions such as temperature and pressure. However, we can make some general observations based on their common properties that allow us to rank their speeds of sound.
1. Helium: Helium is a gas and has a very low density. Gases tend to have relatively low densities compared to liquids and solids. Since the speed of sound is inversely proportional to the square root of density, this suggests that helium would have the highest speed of sound among the three substances.
2. Mercury: Mercury is a liquid metal with a higher density than helium. Liquids generally have higher densities compared to gases. This implies that mercury would have a lower speed of sound compared to helium.
3. Benzene: Benzene is a liquid with a higher density compared to helium but lower density compared to mercury. Since it falls between the other two substances in terms of density, we can infer that the speed of sound in benzene would also fall between the speed in helium and mercury.
Therefore, from fastest to slowest speed of sound, the ranking would be:
A. Helium
B. Benzene
C. Mercury