Learn Speed Of Sound A Lesson Of Physics For Kids.

Today we are presenting and going to learn about the speed of sound as a lesson of physics for kids, and Science Articles For Kids. At first instance if we say to the kids about the speed of sound they use to become in little pause state.

This pause is because, they never thought of the speed other than the speed of the ball, or the speed of any vehicle. We are saying first time to them about the speed of something other than the vehicle. So its but natural behaviour.

OK Kids so today we are going to talk about the speed of the sound, and about the speed of a train or about the speed of any vehicle.

So first understand that the sound travels, yes the sound travels from one place to another, through something. Yes travelling needs some medium that’s why we are saying “travelling through something”.

See anything travelling, whether it is an aeroplane or any vehicle, or anything else, if we say it is travelling means it needs some medium, without a medium nothing can travel… here we don’t have to go very deep talking about the medium, because medium is a very deep subject to be discussed.

Here above; you understood that if anything is travelling “it is travelling through / with something”, and that something is known as the medium.

Let’s imaging a little experiment; you are standing in one place in the garden and tell your MOM or DAD or a Friend to be some 200 feet away from you. Now tell them to shout your name loudly. See you will hear your name clearly. This shows that the sound of your name started from their mouth and travelled to your ear. So here sound is travelling is proved. Here in this experiment the sound is travelling through the air, the air is nothing but the medium as we talked above.


So now if anything is travelling it would obviously have some speed. Yes! Do you agree here with me ? Just like your vehicles have speed, sound is also having a speed…. And what we will call to it ?

Yes you are right, this we call “Speed Of Sound”. From above till now you have learned two things 1) First, Sound is having speed and 2) Second, Sound is travelling through something is called a medium. Now one thing more you understand that sound can travel through many things (medium). Not like our Car or an Aeroplane, one can only travel or move on the Road and another can only fly in the Air.

But here sound need not to be waterproof to travel into / through the water, and need not to have wings to travel / fly through the air. The sound will have different speed in different mediums, sound can travel through the air, sound can travel through the water, sound can travel through the iron too and also through many many such mediums.

How we will define the speed of the sound? Ok let us define the speed of sound, Do you remember how we say about the speed of our vehicle, that is Kilometre Per Second (Km/s), means the distance travelled and the time taken. Similarly we will define the speed of sound, let’s see.

The speed of sound is the distance travelled by the sound into the unit of time, distance travelled can be in Meters or Feets or Kilometres and the time can be anything like seconds, or hours etc.

How we will talk about the speed of sound in our day to day life, what we will say if anybody will ask, what is the speed of sound ?

The speed of sound in the air is 343.2 meters per second (Sound travels 343.2 meter in 1 second) or 1126 feet per second, or 768 miles per hour, or 1236 kilometres per hour. Uh…

Confused? Don’t be! You keep saying 343.2 meters per second or 1236 kilometres per second in your day to day life, if anybody ask you. But remember that this is the speed of sound in the air (dry air) at 20 Degree Centigrade (68 F), the speed of sound will change as the temperature will change. It’s about one kilometre in three seconds or approximately one mile in five seconds.

But you don’t worry; you continue to say that the speed of sound in the air is 343.2 m/s or 1236 Km/s and forget everything.

Let’s see some more speed’s of sound in different substances; As we said above, the speed of sound varies substance to substance. Sound travels faster in the liquid or in the water, Sound travels approximately 4.3 times faster in the water i.e. 1484 m/s, and approximately 15 times faster in the iron i.e. 5,120 m/s.

Now, I think you understood everything about the speed of sound, whenever anybody will ask, I know you will explain them each and every thing about the speed of sound.

Share This With Your Friends, And Tell Them Everything About The Speed Of Sound. Keep reading TheZeroLife.Com and Learn the Science and Technology Articles For Kids and Elders. By- Himanshu Kumar Singh .