Question

You are standing 340 meters away from a canyon wall. You shout and hear your echo 2 seconds later. What is the speed of the wave?

A) 170 m/s
B) 340 m/s
C) 85 m/s
D) 425 m/s

Answer 1

The speed of the wave is the speed of sound, which in this case can be calculated by dividing the total distance traveled by the sound (back and forth to the canyon wall) by the time it takes to hear the echo. Since the sound travels 680 meters in 2 seconds, the speed is 340 m/s, so the correct answer is B) 340 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To find the speed of the wave, which is the speed of sound in this context, you need to consider that the sound has to travel to the canyon wall and back, making the total distance twice the distance from you to the wall. Since you are standing 340 meters away from the canyon wall and you hear the echo after 2 seconds, the sound actually travels 340 meters to the wall and 340 meters back, for a total of 680 meters in 2 seconds.

The formula to find the speed of sound is:

speed = distance / time

So using the distance of 680 meters and time of 2 seconds, the calculation would be:

speed = 680 meters / 2 seconds = 340 meters/second (m/s)

Therefore, the correct answer is B) 340 m/s.