Which term describes the bending of sound as it passes from one medium to another?

• A. Refraction.
• B. Reflection.
• C. Diffraction.
• D. Doppler Effect.

Answer: (A)

Sound bending as it passes from one medium to another is described by refraction. When a sound wave reaches a boundary, the speed of sound changes in the new material, and this change redirects the wavefront, so the path appears bent rather than straight. For example, sound moving from air into water speeds up, causing the wave to refract and bend away from the boundary’s normal. Reflection would mean the wave bounces back, not cross into the new medium; diffraction involves bending around edges or openings; the Doppler effect involves a frequency shift due to motion between source and observer. Refraction is the term that captures the bending caused by crossing into a medium with a different sound speed.