Sound waves travel at different speeds depending on various environmental factors. Let’s break these down:

1. Medium: This means the material sound travels through.

   • Sound goes fastest in solids. It moves at about 5,000 meters per second!

   • It’s a bit slower in liquids, around 1,500 meters per second.

   • Sound is slowest in gases, like air, traveling at about 340 meters per second when it’s 20 degrees Celsius.

2. Temperature: The warmth of the air changes how fast sound travels.

   • For every degree Celsius increase in temperature, sound speeds up by about 0.6 meters per second.

   • For example:

     • At 0 degrees Celsius, sound travels at 331 meters per second.
     • At 20 degrees Celsius, it speeds up to 343 meters per second.

3. Density and Humidity: These terms refer to how heavy or wet the air is.

   • When there’s more humidity (moisture in the air), the density of the air goes down. This actually helps sound travel faster!

   • For example, sound travels faster in humid air at 343 meters per second, compared to dry air at 331 meters per second.

These factors show us how our surroundings can really affect the way sound moves through the air.