Final answer:
To calculate the width of the canyon, the speed of sound (343 m/s) is multiplied by the time of the echo (1.70 s) and then halved, resulting in a canyon width of 291.05 meters.
Step-by-step explanation:
If Yennifer shouts across a desert canyon and hears an echo 1.70 seconds later, to determine how wide the canyon is, we must know the speed of sound. Assuming that the speed of sound is approximately 343 meters per second, we can use this information to calculate the distance to the canyon wall. The sound has to travel to the wall and back, so the actual distance to the wall is half the total distance travelled by sound.
The total distance that the sound travels is the speed of sound multiplied by the time it takes for the echo to return. Since the echo takes 1.70 seconds to return, we multiply the speed of sound (343 m/s) by 1.70 seconds:
Total distance travelled by the sound = 343 m/s × 1.70 s = 582.10 meters
Since this distance is for the sound to travel to the cliff and back, the width of the canyon is half this distance:
Width of the canyon = 582.10 meters / 2 = 291.05 meters