The Speed of Sound in Different Media

Lab Brief #3

🎯 Your mission

Run the experiment. Find out what really happens.

⚡ The twist

Nature loves to surprise the careful watcher.

What you'll learn

Sound travels at roughly 340 m/s in air, about 1,500 m/s in water and around 5,000 m/s in steel. The closer and more strongly bound the particles, the faster the disturbance passes along — the opposite of the pattern for light.

Key words

medium
The material through which a wave travels.
speed of sound
About 340 m/s in air at room temperature; much faster in liquids and solids.

Make a hypothesis first

Before you start: write down what you think will happen, and why.

Say your guess out loud — then find out if you were right.

Get ready

🧰 What you need

stopwatch
long tape measure
large flat wall
open space

⚠️ Safety first

Choose an open area away from traffic and go with an adult.

Step 1 of 4 · Read

Think about what you just learned: say what "medium" and "speed of sound" mean in your own words before you start.

Step 2 of 4 · Do

Stand a measured 100 m or more from a wall and clap in rhythm with the returning echo. Time twenty claps, work out the round-trip distance, and calculate the speed of sound. Compare with 340 m/s.

Step 3 of 4 · Observe

Record what actually happened, including anything that did not match what you expected.

Step 4 of 4 · Record

Write a conclusion that answers the question this lesson opened with, and state your uncertainty.

Question 1 of 2

Sound travels fastest through:

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Question 2 of 2

Roughly how fast does sound travel in air at room temperature?

How sure are you?😐 maybe

Mind = blown

🔬 The more you look, the more nature shows you.

Nice work!

You got 0 of 2 right.

Next: Echoes, Sonar and Ultrasound All lessons

🎯

Next Smart Experiment

We'll pick an experiment that matches exactly how you're thinking right now.

✨ More to explore

🌍 Where you see this in real life: This shows up in your everyday life more than you'd think.

🏆 Stretch challenge (try it this week): Try one experiment in real life this week — even a tiny one.

👨‍👩‍👧 For the dinner table: “What's the most surprising thing you learned today?”

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The Speed of Sound in Different Media

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