Do all sounds travel at the same speed in air?
All sounds travel at the same speed in air”. This was a statement in my science textbook. However, if the frequency and wavelengths of sound waves vary (e.g. high freq. waves have short wavelengths and vice versa), how could it be that all sounds travel at the same speed in air? If the formula is ‘speed = freq. x wavelength’, does that mean all sound waves have the same frequency and wavelength? Frequency tells us the number of waves that pass a specific point each second. Wave length tells us the length of the wave. Story time!! You are sitting at a railroad crossing, watching a train. You see 10 cars pass in front of you in 5 seconds. Each box car is 4 m long. What is the speed of the train? Speed = distance ÷ time Distance = 10 cars * 4 m/car = 40 m Time = 5 seconds Speed = 40 ÷ 5 = 8 m/s How many cars pass in front of you each second? 10 cars ÷ 5 s = 2 cars/s Frequency = 2 cars/s The length of 1 car = 4 m Car length = 4 m/car Velocity of car = 4 m/car * 2 cars/s = 8 m/s Velocity =
