Question

Stand at the end of a big table and make a friend stand at the other end. Ask the friend to knock lightly on the table. You will hear a faint sound.

Now you press your ear to the table and ask the friend to repeat the knock. What difference do you notice?

Answer 1

When your friend knocks lightly on the table, you hear only a faint sound through the air. But when you press your ear against the table and your friend knocks again, the sound is heard more clearly and loudly.

This happens because the vibrations produced by knocking travel through the solid table and reach your ear more effectively than through air.

Thus, we understand that sound can travel through solids, and sound is heard more clearly through a solid medium than through air. This activity is related to the chapter concept of propagation of sound through solids.