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?
A. air to glass
B. air to steel
C. steel to water
D. water to glass
B. air to steel
The speed of sound is higher in steel compared to air, which means that the frequency of the sound wave remains constant when transitioning from air to steel. Since frequency remains constant, but the speed of sound increases, the wavelength of the sound wave would shorten.