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What is the approximate speed of sound in air?
A. 34 metres per second
B. 343 metres per second
C. 3,000 metres per second
D. 30 metres per second
Correct Answer Is Option = 343 metres per second
Notes / Explanation
The approximate speed of sound in air is about three hundred and forty-three metres per second under ordinary conditions, which means that a sound travels through the air at this speed, covering this distance in a single second. Sound is a form of energy that travels in the form of waves through a medium such as air, and unlike light, which travels at an extraordinarily high speed, sound travels much more slowly, though still quite fast by everyday standards. The speed of sound in air, at about three hundred and forty-three metres per second, is far slower than the speed of light, which is why, in certain situations, we notice a delay between seeing something and hearing the sound associated with it. A familiar example of this is the case of thunder and lightning during a storm, for the light of the lightning reaches us almost instantly because light travels so fast, whereas the sound of the thunder, travelling at the much slower speed of sound, takes longer to reach us, so that we see the flash of lightning before we hear the thunder, and the greater the distance, the longer the delay between them. This delay can even be used to estimate how far away the storm is. Another example is seen when watching something happen at a distance, such as a person hitting an object far away, where the sound may be heard a moment after the action is seen. The speed of sound is not exactly the same under all conditions, for it depends on the medium through which the sound is travelling and on conditions such as the temperature. Sound travels faster in warmer air than in colder air, and it travels at different speeds in different materials, generally travelling faster in liquids and solids than in air. In a vacuum, where there is no medium, sound cannot travel at all. The study of sound, its properties and its speed is an important part of the science of physics. For PPSC and other competitive examinations, the key points to remember are that the approximate speed of sound in air is about three hundred and forty-three metres per second under ordinary conditions, that this is far slower than the speed of light, which is why we see the flash of lightning before we hear the thunder, that the speed of sound depends on the medium and on conditions such as temperature, and that sound cannot travel through a vacuum.
