Question

Ultrasound was used to check for cracks in an aeroplane wing. The ultrasound pulse would be reflected from any cracks and from the end of the wing. The diagram shows the oscilloscope trace produced by the echo. How long was the plane wing? The speed of sound in metal is 5000m/s.

Answer 1

To calculate the airplane wing length with ultrasound, we use the speed of sound in metal and the time measured. The provided speed of sound is 5000 m/s. However, the actual time measurement from the oscilloscope trace is needed to perform the calculation.

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine the length of the airplane wing using an ultrasound pulse, following a physics principle where the speed of sound in a medium and the time taken for the echo to return can be used to calculate distance. Assuming the oscilloscope trace provides the time for the ultrasound to travel to the end of the wing and back, we first need to halve this time to find the time for the sound to travel one way. The speed of sound in metal is given as 5000 m/s.

The formula to use here is:

Distance (length of the wing) = Speed of Sound in Metal x Time taken for the sound to travel one way

Unfortunately, the time for the sound to travel to the end of the wing and back is not provided in your question. Once you have this time, divide it by 2 to get the time for one-way travel, then multiply that number by 5000 m/s to compute the length of the wing.