Question

Would you expect sound waves to travel faster through a low density gas or a higher density gas?

Answer 1

well since sound works by molecules colliding with another and another and so on and so forth i would expect sound to travel faster in a gas of higher density than one of low density.

Answer 2

The question asks what you would expect. Most would expect the same as zephyr141.
In fact, the answer is not as easy and the question doesn't give all the data needed.
If the gas were a single element or molecule, it would act like an "Ideal Gas". In an ideal gas, the density does not effect the speed of sound, just temperature. Mixed gases do have some effect on the speed of sound but not significantly.
If you think about the speed of sound in the atmosphere, it goes down as one goes higher up. This is mainly due to the change in temperature and not density. In fact when one gets as high as the let aircraft fly, the speed stops dropping and starts to increase even though the density continues to fall. Thus, again, is due to the increasing temperature of the Stratosphere.

Answer 3

hmmm.. that is most interesting! thank you for teaching me something new. :D

Answer 4

You are welcome zephyr141.