What happens to the speed of a sound wave as it travels from air into glass?

\begin{tabular}{|c|c|c|c|c|}
\hline & Water & Diamond & Glass & Air \\
\hline \begin{tabular}{c}
Speed of \\
sound \\
(m/s)
\end{tabular} & 1,493 & 12,000 & 5,640 & 346 \\
\hline
\end{tabular}

A. It decreases.

B. It falls to zero.

C. It stays the same.

D. It increases.



Answer :

To understand what happens to the speed of a sound wave as it travels from air into glass, you need to compare the speeds of sound in both mediums. Looking at the provided table:

[tex]\[ \begin{array}{|c|c|c|c|c|} \hline & \text{Water} & \text{Diamond} & \text{Glass} & \text{Air} \\ \hline \begin{array}{c} \text{Speed of} \\ \text{sound} \\ (\text{m/s}) \end{array} & 1,493 & 12,000 & 5,640 & 346 \\ \hline \end{array} \][/tex]

- The speed of sound in air is 346 m/s.
- The speed of sound in glass is 5640 m/s.

From this data, you can see that the speed of sound in glass (5640 m/s) is significantly greater than the speed of sound in air (346 m/s). Therefore, when a sound wave travels from air into glass, it is moving into a medium where the sound travels much faster.

Given the options:
A. It decreases.
B. It falls to zero.
C. It stays the same.
D. It increases.

The correct answer is D. It increases.

Thus, when a sound wave travels from air into glass, the speed of the sound wave increases.