How do sound waves travel through a medium?

Sound waves travel through a medium in expanding spherical patterns in all directions due to their wave nature. When a sound is produced, it creates vibrations in the surrounding particles of the medium, starting from the source of the sound. These vibrations propagate outwards, causing the particles in the medium to oscillate and transfer the energy of the sound wave.

As the sound energy moves away from the source, it forms spherical wavefronts, meaning that the waves expand outward in all directions, much like the ripples created when a stone is thrown into a pond. This expanding pattern allows the sound to reach listeners who are located at varying distances from the sound source, which is an essential characteristic of how sound travels in open environments.

The other options do not accurately describe the propagation of sound waves. For instance, concentric circles imply a two-dimensional propagation from a point, which doesn’t encompass the three-dimensional nature of sound as it travels through a medium. Linear waves suggest that sound only moves in straight lines, failing to capture the spherical expansion. Random directions imply a chaotic movement that does not align with the organized propagation pattern of sound waves. Thus, the description of sound traveling in expanding spherical patterns effectively conveys the fundamental understanding of sound wave behavior in different mediums.