Question

An oceanic depth-sounding vessel (sonar) surveys the ocean bottom with ultrasonic sound that travels at an average of 1522m/s. How deep is the water if the time delay of the echo from the ocean floor is 2.0s?

Answer 1

1522 m

Step-by-step explanation:

The ultrasound wave takes t=2.0 s to travel from the vessel to the ocean bottom, and then back to the vessel.

This means that the time the wave takes to travel from the vessel to the ocean bottom is just half of this:

`t=(2.0 s)/(2)=1.0 s`

The wave travels at a speed of

v = 1522 m/s

So, we can find the distance between the vessel and the ocean bottom by using the equation of the uniform motion, and we find:

`d=vt=(1522 m/s)(1.0 s)=1522 m`