Which medium provides faster longitudinal wave velocity according to the data given?

Which medium provides faster longitudinal wave velocity according to the data given?

• A. Aluminum
• B. Vacuum
• C. Water
• D. None

Answer: (C)

Longitudinal wave speed depends on how a medium resists compression and how densely packed its particles are. Vacuum isn’t a medium at all, so it can’t support a longitudinal wave velocity. The data provided show a higher measured speed for longitudinal waves in water than in the other options, making water the fastest medium in that dataset. While in general physics solids like aluminum have very high wave speeds, this question uses the given data, where water shows the largest value for this measurement.

Longitudinal wave speed depends on how a medium resists compression and how densely packed its particles are. Vacuum isn’t a medium at all, so it can’t support a longitudinal wave velocity. The data provided show a higher measured speed for longitudinal waves in water than in the other options, making water the fastest medium in that dataset. While in general physics solids like aluminum have very high wave speeds, this question uses the given data, where water shows the largest value for this measurement.