Question

select the correct answer. which probing question lies within the scope of physics?
a. are fish in the open ocean attracted by underwater sounds?
b. does increasing the saltiness of ocean water affect the speed of sound in the water?
c. what effect does the release of industrial wastewater have on the acidity of oceans?
d. what is the effect of rising sea temperatures on ocean currents?

Explanation:

• Option A: Involves fish behavior, related to biology (animal behavior).
• Option B: Sound speed in water and its relation to salinity. Sound propagation and properties of matter (water) are physics topics (acoustics, properties of fluids).
• Option C: Industrial wastewater affecting ocean acidity is a chemistry (acid - base chemistry) and environmental science topic.
• Option D: Sea temperature and ocean currents is related to oceanography/meteorology (fluid dynamics in oceans, but more related to earth science/physical oceanography, but the question about the effect of temperature on currents in terms of physics - the key here is that option B is more directly about a physical property (speed of sound) and its dependence on a physical parameter (salinity) of the medium.

Answer:

B. Does increasing the saltiness of ocean water affect the speed of sound in the water?