Answer:
Both sound waves will travel at the same speed.
Explanation:
The speed of sound depends only on the density and the elastic properties of the medium it is travelling through, the mathematical relation is
[tex]v= \sqrt{\dfrac{B}{\rho} }[/tex],
where [tex]B[/tex] is the bulk modulus (a measure of how much a material will compress under a certain pressure), and [tex]\rho[/tex] is the density of the medium.
Since the frequency of a sound wave does not change the properties of the medium it is travelling through, every frequency will have the same speed through a certain medium.
Hence, a 5,000 Hz and a 40-Hz sound wave will have the same speed through steel.
