Sound waves are longitudinal waves that can travel through air. Would you expect sound waves to travel faster through a low-density gas (such as helium) or a higher-density gas such as carbon dioxide? Justify your answer based on what you have learned.
Based on what we have learned, we would expect sound waves to travel faster through a low-density gas such as helium compared to a higher-density gas such as carbon dioxide. This is because the speed of sound in a medium is directly proportional to the square root of the elasticity of the medium and inversely proportional to the square root of its density.
In simpler terms, sound waves travel faster in a medium that is easier to compress and has a lower density. Helium has a lower density and is less dense than carbon dioxide. Therefore, sound waves would experience less resistance and be able to travel faster through helium than through carbon dioxide.
Sound waves travel faster through higher-density gases, such as carbon dioxide, compared to low-density gases, such as helium. This is because the speed of sound is directly proportional to the square root of the medium's elasticity and inversely proportional to the square root of its density.
Since carbon dioxide has a higher density than helium, it means that it has more particles per unit volume. Consequently, there are more particles available to transmit sound vibrations, allowing sound waves to propagate more quickly through the medium.
On the other hand, helium has a very low density, which means it has a lower number of particles per unit volume. As a result, there are fewer particles available to transmit sound vibrations, causing sound waves to travel more slowly through the gas.
Therefore, based on the principles of elasticity and density, sound waves would be expected to travel faster through a higher-density gas, such as carbon dioxide, compared to a low-density gas, like helium.