Final answer:
The transmit and return time of the pulse would halve if the distance to the reflector is halved, given that the speed of light is constant and time is proportional to distance.
Step-by-step explanation:
If the distance to the reflector decreases by one half, the transmit and return time of the pulse would also decrease by one half. This relation is due to the fact that the speed of light (or any electromagnetic wave) is constant in a given medium, so the time it takes for a pulse to travel a certain distance is directly proportional to that distance. If you reduce the distance by half, the time it would take for the pulse to reach the reflector and return would effectively be halved.
This is explained through the concept that waves, including light and radar pulses, follow an inverse square relationship with distance. As shown in some of the reference information, when distance is halved, the intensity does not remain constant; rather, it increases because it is inversely proportional to the square of the distance. However, in this scenario, we are not concerned with the intensity, but with the time which is linearly proportional to distance.