Does the speed of sound depend on air temerature?

Question

Does the speed of sound depend on air temerature?

if yes/no
please explain...not just a "yes" or "no"

Answer 1

Yes, the speed of sound is temperature dependent. More energetic air molecules (those with higher temperature) will propagate sound at a faster velocity than less energetic air molecules. This means that higher temperature means faster sound velocity. The speed of sound is about 343 m/s at 20 degrees Celcius and roughly can be found by using the equation:

v = 331.4 + 0.60 * T

Answer 2

Yes, it depends on temperature (and humidity and pressure and even wind speed -- anything that affects density).

When air is cool, its molecules are not bouncing around as much, so they are more tightly packed -- that is, more dense. Therefore, sound is tranferred more quickly through them.

Imagine a billiards table PACKED with balls, and one with balls spread out -- when you hit the balls on the packed table, a ball instantly pops out the other side. However, on the spread out one, it takes a while for the balls to hit each other and pop one off the other end.

The packing of the air molecules depends on the kinetic energy they have, and that is measured by air temperature. Hot molecules are more excited and spread out, just like excited dancers on a dance floor.

Answer 3

kinda (ha! beat your criteria)

one would think that the speed of sound waves would be dependant on the medium. If the temperature was hot, the air molecules already be in motion. However, is this motion impeding on the wave speed?

i can't give you a straight answer

Answer 4

Well I would say yes as its to do with atoms/particals.
I know that sound travels faster in water and solids because the particles are closer together and why in air it is slower.

The particles move faster when hotter than when cooler, so technically will travel faster, but it may depend on the actual sound wave too I think.

Answer 5

Yes, it does. Lower air temperature will give a higher speed of sound, since the air's density is higher.

Answer 6

Yes.

The lower the temp., the denser the air, and the higher the speed of sound.

Answer 7

*The speed varies depending on atmospheric conditions; the most important factor is the temperature. Air pressure has almost no effect on sound speed. Air pressure has no effect at all in an ideal gas approximation, because pressure and density both contribute to sound velocity equally, and in an ideal gas the two effects cancel out, leaving only the effect of temperature. Sound usually travels more slowly with greater altitude, due to reduced temperature (but speeds up in the stratosphere due to heating within the ozone layer). Humidity has a small, but measurable effect on sound speed. Sound travels slightly (0.1%-0.6%) faster in humid air.

*Speed of Sound in Air:

The speed of sound in dry air is given approximately by

331.4+0.6Tc m/sec.

where Tc is the celsius temperature,

[that at temperature 100 C.
the speed of sound is 392.4 m/s
while at 10 degree, it is 337.5 m/s]

*Sound Pressure:
Since audible sound consists of pressure waves, one of the ways to quantify the sound is to state the amount of pressure variation relative to atmospheric pressure caused by the sound. Because of the great sensitivity of human hearing, the threshold of hearing corresponds to a pressure variation less than a billionth of atmospheric pressure.

The standard threshold of hearing can be stated in terms of pressure and the sound intensity in decibels can be expressed in terms of the sound pressure.
*It is important to note that the sound speed in air is determined by the air itself. It is not dependent upon the sound amplitude, frequency or wavelength.
*The speed of sound is a term used to describe the speed of sound waves passing through an elastic medium. The speed varies with the medium employed (for example, sound waves move faster through water than through air), as well as with the properties of the medium, especially temperature. The term is commonly used to refer specifically to the speed of sound in air. At sea level, at a temperature of 21 °C (70 °F) and under normal atmospheric conditions, the speed of sound is 344 m/s (769 mph or 1238 km/h).
*

Answer 8

YES THE SPEED OF SOUND (V) IS AFFECTED BY AIR TEMPERATURE.


FORMULA:

V = 643.855 X TEMPERATURE IN KELVIN ^0.5 X 1 / 273.15^0.5

WHERE,

TEMP IN KELVIN = TEMPERATURE IN CELCIUS + 273

Answer 9

i dont thonk it is the eason being sound is transmitted on waves . air temp will have no effect on the lenght of the wave.