The speed of sound depends on the elasticity of the medium. As solids have the highest elasticity, it travels the fastest in solids. Elasticity is less for liquids and least for gases; hence its speed decreases in liquids, and it is the slowest in gases. Therefore, for a given temperature, sound travels fastest in iron.
- Sound travels about 1500 meters per second in seawater. Sound travels much more slowly in the air, at about 340 meters per second.
- Sound waves travel faster in denser substances because neighbouring particles will more easily bump into one another.
- The speed of sound in the air mainly depends on the temperature of the air. On average, it is about 343 meters per second (1,125 feet per second), which is faster than the sound speed in a vacuum.