How do sound waves travel in air medium? Explain.
Sound waves need a medium to travel such as a solid, liquid, or gas. The sound waves move through each of these media by vibrating the molecules in the matter. The molecules in solids are packed very tightly. Liquids are not packed as tightly as solids. And gases are very loosely packed. The spacing of the molecules enables sound to travel much faster through a solid than a gas. Sound travels about four times faster and farther in water than it does in air. This is why whales can communicate over huge distances in the oceans. Sound waves travel about thirteen times faster in wood than air. They also travel faster on hotter days as the molecules bump into each other more often than when it is cold.