Question

A lightning bolt is seen and then a rumble of thunder is heard by the same person 5 seconds later. The lightning channel is about ______ miles from the observer.

a) 1
b) 2
c) 3
d) 5

Answer 1

The lightning strike occurred approximately 1 mile away from the observer, as light is seen almost immediately and sound travels at a speed where a 5-second delay corresponds to around a.1 mile.

Step-by-step explanation:

The question posed deals with the concept of the varying speeds of light and sound, and how this can be utilized to estimate the distance of a lightning strike. We know that light travels much faster than sound at a speed of approximately 3 × 108 m/s, and thus, we see the lightning almost immediately. Sound, however, travels at a speed of roughly 343 m/s in air at sea level. Since the sound of the thunder reaches the observer 5 seconds after the lightning is seen, we can calculate the distance to the lightning strike.

Using the rule that sound travels approximately one mile every five seconds, we can deduce that the lightning strike occurred about 1 mile away from the observer. This estimation is based on the speed of sound and the delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder.

The correct answer to the question "A lightning bolt is seen and then a rumble of thunder is heard by the same person 5 seconds later. The lightning channel is about ______ miles from the observer." is 1 mile, which corresponds to option (a) 1.