Which statement describes the reason for the change in the velocity of waves as temperature decreases? O The particles of the medium move faster and there are fewer chances to transfer energy.
O The particles of the medium move faster and there are more chances to transfer energy.
O The particles of the medium move more slowly and there are more chances to transfer energy.
O The particles of the medium move more slowly and there are fewer chances to transfer energy.

O The particles of the medium move more slowly and there are fewer chances to transfer energy.

Explanation:

Various media are made up of particles. These particles are in constant motion according to the kinetic theory of matter. Recall that temperature has been defined as the average kinetic energy of the particles in a medium. Hence, for any given medium, the velocity of particle motion increases or decreases linearly with temperature.

The speed of particles in any medium increases or decreases as the temperature of the medium increases or decreases as emphasised above. Hence, at low temperature, the velocity of waves set up by the motion of particles in a medium decreases and transfer the wave energy to neighbouring particles occurs more slowly than at high temperatures.