How does sound travel?
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5 points
transverse waves
electromagnetic waves
seismic waves
longitudinal waves
Sound travels through longitudinal waves.
Select the statements that is TRUE about sound waves.
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5 points
Sound waves travel fastest through gases, liquids, then solids.
Sound waves transmit louder on hard, smooth surfaces.
Sound waves travel as fast as light waves.
Sound waves can travel through a vacuum.
The statement that is TRUE about sound waves is:
- Sound waves can travel through a vacuum.
Sound travels as longitudinal waves.
Here's a step-by-step explanation of how sound travels:
1. Sound is created when an object vibrates or moves back and forth. This vibration creates disturbances or fluctuations in the surrounding air or any other medium through which the sound travels.
2. These disturbances in the form of pressure variations are known as sound waves. Sound waves consist of compressions (where air particles are pushed closer together) and rarefactions (where air particles are spread apart).
3. As the object continues to vibrate, it creates a series of compressions and rarefactions that propagate outward from the source in all directions.
4. When the sound waves reach our ears or any other listening device, they cause the eardrums or the respective medium to vibrate at the same frequency as the sound waves.
5. The vibrations are then transmitted to the inner ear, where they are converted into electrical signals and sent to the brain. The brain interprets these electrical signals as sound.
So, in summary, sound travels as longitudinal waves, where energy is transferred through compressions and rarefactions in the medium (such as air, water, or solids).
Sound travels through longitudinal waves.
To understand how sound travels, we need to know that sound is essentially a vibration or disturbance that propagates through a medium, such as air, water, or solids. When an object or source creates sound, like a speaker or voice, it causes the surrounding molecules in the medium to vibrate. These vibrations create a wave-like pattern that spreads out from the source in all directions.
In the case of sound, these vibrations are created in a way that causes the molecules of the medium to move parallel to the direction of the wave travel. This type of wave motion is called longitudinal wave motion.
As the sound wave travels through the medium, it compresses and rarefies the molecules. The compressed region is called a compression, where the air molecules are temporarily pushed closer together. The rarefied region is called a rarefaction, where the air molecules are temporarily spread farther apart.
The compression and rarefaction patterns continue to propagate through the medium, transferring the sound energy from the source to our ears or other detecting devices. As a result, we perceive sound.
So, in summary, sound travels through longitudinal waves, where the medium vibrates parallel to the direction of the wave motion.