Which of the following statements is NOT correct regarding the travel of sound waves?

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NDA (Held On: 6 Sep 2020) General Ability Test Previous Year paper
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  1. Sound waves can travel through water
  2. Sound waves can travel through air
  3. Sound waves can travel through steel
  4. Sound waves can travel through vacuum

Answer (Detailed Solution Below)

Option 4 : Sound waves can travel through vacuum
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Detailed Solution

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CONCEPT:

Sound: 

  • sound is a form of energy that produces a sensation of hearing in our ears.
  • It is a kind of disturbance that travels through a medium due to repeated vibrations of the particles of the medium about their mean positions.
  • The disturbance being handed over from one particle to the next.

Sound: It is a form of energy produced by vibration or disturbance that propagates in a medium.

  • It travels in the form of longitudinal waves (Compression or rarefaction)

F1 J.K 13.6.20 Pallavi D7

EXPLANATION:

  • Sound waves travel in straight lines directly outwards from their source in the form of compression and rarefaction
  • From above it is clear that a sound is a form of energy that produces a sensation of hearing in our ears
  • Sound is a mechanical wave and needs a material medium like airwatersteel, etc. for its propagation
  • It cannot travel through a vacuum. Therefore option 4 is incorrect.
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