Final answer:
To calculate the speed of sound in water, you divide the distance sound travels by the time it takes, which would typically result in a realistic value of around 1,430 m/s. However, the distance provided in the question seems to be mistakenly given in miles instead of meters, as the calculated speed is unrealistically high.
Step-by-step explanation:
The speed of sound in water can be calculated by using the formula speed = distance / time. In this case, the student has provided the time it takes for sound to travel underwater to a diver, which is 4.2 seconds, and the distance, which is 6,006 miles. To find the speed of sound in water, we first need to convert the distance from miles to meters (6,006 miles = 9,663,174 meters approximately).
Using the given time of 4.2 seconds, the calculation will be:
Speed = 9,663,174 meters / 4.2 seconds = 2,300,755 m/s.
This value is incredibly high and not practical as the typical speed of sound in water is around 1,480 m/s. It is likely that the distance was meant to be in meters instead of miles. If the distance is indeed in meters, then the speed of sound in water would be calculated as:
Speed = 6,006 meters / 4.2 seconds = approximately 1,430 m/s, which is a more realistic speed for sound travelling through water.