Final answer:
The radar measures the round-trip time for a pulse to hit an object and return. To find the one-way distance to the object, we use the speed of light to calculate that the distance is 2250 meters, which unfortunately isn't an option provided in the question.
Step-by-step explanation:
The radar system detects aircraft by sending out a pulse and measuring the time it takes for the pulse to reflect back. The time it took for the pulse to return to the radar after reflecting off an object is 6x10-5 seconds (also known as 60 microseconds). To find the distance to the reflecting object, we must consider that this time is for the pulse to travel to the object and back, meaning the actual distance to the object is half of the total distance traveled by the pulse.
Using the speed of light (approximately 3x108 meters/second) and the round-trip time of the pulse, we can calculate the distance as follows:
- Distance = (Speed of light) x (Time for round-trip) / 2
- Distance = (3x108 m/s) x (6x10-5 s) / 2
- Distance = 9x103 meters / 2
- Distance = 4.5x103 meters, which equals 4500 meters.
Since the question is asking for the one-way distance, we need to take half of this value to get the answer:
Distance to reflecting object = 4500 meters / 2 = 2250 meters.
However, none of the options provided (900m, 1800m, 2700m, 3600m) exactly match this value. Therefore, it suggests a possibility of either a mistake in the provided options or an oversight in the calculation. It's important to double-check such discrepancies with the source of the question or consider rounding the value to the closest provided option, which would be 1800 meters, and discussing this with the student.