What is he speed of sound?

Answer 1

The Speed of sound in AIR at 0 degrees C and 1 atmosphere (sea level) is 1190km/h or 331m/s (740mi/h).

At higher altitudes the atmospheric pressure is lower, therefore the speed of sound is lower. The speed of sound in a vacuum is ZERO, since the DENSITY of a vacuum is ZERO

The DENSITY and ELASTICITY of a medium are the 2 MAIN factors in differences in speed as sound travels through a substance.

DENSITY of an object, is the mass/volume, ie kg/cubic meter.

ELASTICITY is a property of an object or material which will restore it to its original shape after distortion, or how compressible a substance is (Hardness). A LARGE elasticity value indicates a relative UNcompressable substance. ie RUBBER is less than 0.1, whereas DIAMOND is 1100-1200. seawater is 2.35

In GENERAL terms the higher the density of a substance, the higher the elasticity as well, and the faster sound travels through it. (speed of sound in diamond is >18000m/s [NOT a typo ... 18 kilometers per second])

Temperature also plays a part, but only really in liquids and gasses. (Temperature doesn't effect the crystalline structure of most solids very much, except close to the melting point where covalent bonds start breaking prior to a change of state.)

Since higher temperature gasses and liquids have a higher kinetic energy value (they vibrate faster) this makes it easier to transfer shock waves between adjacent particles, thus waves travel FASTER through higher temperature versions of the same medium, even though the density is lower. ie sound travels faster through air or water at 90 deg than the same substance at 20 deg.

Answer 2

The speed of sound in air at sea level is approximately 343 meters per second (1235 km/h or 767 mph). This speed can vary based on factors such as temperature, humidity, and altitude.