Sound Needs a Medium to travel


 
 
Concept Explanation
 

Sound Needs a Medium to travel

Sound needs a medium to travel: The substance through which sound travels is called a medium. It can be solid, liquid or a gas. Sound wave is a mechanical wave and requires a material medium like air, water, steel, etc., for its propagation. Sound wave cannot travel in vaccum.This can be proved by bell jar  activity.

Activity:

1. An electric bell is suspended inside a bell jar by its leads.

 2. A pipe through the cork leads out to vaccum pump(pump which draws the air out of a vessel).

3. The bell is connected to a battery through the key. 

4. The bell is started by closing the key. Initailly when jar has normal air inside it, sound waves produced by the ringing bell heard outside the jar.

5. The vaccum pump is started and the air from inside the jar is gradually drawn out. With decreased air inside the jar, sound heard becomes weaker and weaker but the strikes can still be seen to be moving, after sometimes no sound is heard. This suggests that sound needs material medium to travel.

Sample Questions
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Question : 1

Sound waves cannot pass through _______________

Right Option : D
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Question : 2

A wave travels through a medium with a speed of 340 m/s. If the frequency of the wave is doubled, what happens to the wave speed ?

Right Option : B
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Question : 3

Which of the following are correct :

(a) Sound needs a medium to propagate or travels

(b) Sound travels through solid liquid and gas

(c) Sound travels through vacuum.

Right Option : B
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