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How to calculate depth of sea whan a ship receives sound produced by its fathometer after 3.5 second



User Jerrod
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2 Answers

3 votes

Answer:

2600 m

Step-by-step explanation:

A fathometer produces a sound wave and then detects the echo. It takes 3.5 seconds for the echo to reach the ship, so that means it takes half the time (1.75 seconds) to reach the ocean floor.

The speed of sound in seawater is approximately 1500 m/s, so the depth of the ocean at that point is:

d = 1500 m/s × 1.75 s

d = 2625 m

Rounding to two significant figures, the depth is approximately 2600 m.

User Juna
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5.2k points
3 votes

Answer: the depth is around d = 1.75s*1450m/s = 2537.5 m

Explanation: A fathometer creates a sound pulse and receives the echo of that sound, and in this way, the instrument can obtain a difference of time (the time between the wave is released and received)

Now, knowing that the velocity of the sound in water is around 1450 m/s

now, the lecture is 3.5 seconds, but in this time the wave goes to the bottom and bounces, so the time needed to reach the bottom is half that:

3.5s/2 = 1.75s

then the distance traveled by the wave in that lapse of time is:

d = 1.75s*1450m/s = 2537.5 m

this is a simplification of the math that the device does.

User Shparekh
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4.9k points