Question

Susie hammers on a block of wood when she is 85 m from a large brick wall. Each time she hits the block, she hears an echo 0.5 s later. With this information, show that the speed of sound is 340 m/s.

Answer 1

By considering the total distance the sound travels (170 m round trip) and the time taken (0.5 seconds), the calculated speed of sound is determined to be 340 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

To show that the speed of sound is 340 m/s using the information that Susie hears an echo 0.5 seconds after she hammers a block of wood 85 m from a large brick wall, we need to consider the total distance traveled by the sound. The sound travels to the wall and then back to Susie. This means the sound travels a total distance of 170 m (85 m to the wall and 85 m back).

Knowing that the time taken for the sound to travel this distance is 0.5 seconds, we can use the formula for speed, which is speed = distance/time. Plugging the values into this formula, we get:

Speed = 170 m / 0.5 s = 340 m/s.

Therefore, the calculated speed of sound based on this echo is 340 m/s, which is close to the accepted value at room temperature under normal atmospheric conditions.