The table shows the speed of sound in various media.
Medium
Speed of
Sound (m/s)
Air 343
Glass 5,640
Steel 5,940
Water 1,433
If a sound wave transitions from one medium to another, which transition would result in a shortening of the wavelength of the sound wave?
air to glass
air to steel
steel to water
water to glass
The speed of sound is directly proportional to the wavelength of the sound wave. So, a higher speed of sound in a medium means the wavelength of the sound wave is longer in that medium.
From the given table, it can be observed that the speed of sound is highest in steel, followed by glass, water, and air.
Therefore, a transition from air to steel would result in a shortening of the wavelength of the sound wave.