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Question

Why does sound travel faster in moist air? (Hint: at the same temperature, water vapor molecules have the same average kinetic energy as the heaveier nitrogen and oxygen molecules in the air. How, then, do the average peeds of H2O molecules compare with those of N2 and O2 molecules?

Answer 1

ya, the density is the key

the denser the medium, the faster the sound is

sound travel faster in water and even faster along a steel rod

Answer 2

Since water is lighter than N2 and O2, to have the same kinetic energy it must be moving faster since it's lighter than the other two molecules. Hence it will collide more quickly with other molecules and increase the speed of sound.

Answer 3

I think the point they are trying to make here is that the kinetic energy of water molecules is the same as heavier molecules, then the water molecules will be travelling faster (ke = 1/2mv^2, if m is smaller, then v is larger).

So, since sound is transmitted by molecules bumping into eachother (longitudinal waves), then since the water molecules bump faster, they transmit the sound faster.

Answer 4

It's not density, it's TENSION. Density refers to the density of the atoms (look at the atomic number). H20 is less than O2, but the TENSION in water is greater, thus the sound waves travel faster since their medium has changed,

Answer 5

theoretically, the more the humid the air is, the denser it is and since the medium's density is directly proportional to how fast sound travels through it, it should travel faster.

Answer 6

there is more energy