Question

Why is the speed of sound different in different media of propagation?

Answer 1

Hint: Sound can be produced by any instrument or by any electronic device or by human beings through a sound box called the larynx. Sound travels with different speeds in a different medium. It is a very common phenomenon that we have seen, for example in water it travels faster than in air and we know from movies and science exhibitions that sound cannot travel on the moon, the bigger question is why so?

Complete step by step answer:
Sound is a kind of longitudinal wave. There are two kinds of waves: longitudinal waves and transverse waves. Longitudinal waves require material medium to travel while transverse waves do not require material medium to travel. Sound is a type of longitudinal wave and that is why the speed of sound is different in different media.
Additional information:
The speed of sound in air depends on constituent gases of the atmosphere and the temperature of the gas. On Earth, the atmosphere is composed of mostly diatomic nitrogen and oxygen gas.

Note: Light is a type of electromagnetic waves and all electromagnetic waves are transverse waves, that is why light can travel in a vacuum and do not require material medium to travel, the speed of sound is, in reality, the speed of transmission of a small disturbance through a medium. If the medium has no particles then there are no such carriers of the disturbances and thus it is unable to propagate.