Final answer:
The storm is roughly 1.26 mile away from the observer, based on the 5-second delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder, using the rule of thumb that sound travels one mile in five seconds. Hence, option (e) is correct.
Step-by-step explanation:
The speed of light is 186,000 miles/second and the speed of sound is 767 miles/hour. To calculate the distance to the storm, we need to convert the units of time to be consistent with the units of speed.
Since light travels much faster than sound, we can assume that the flash of lightning reaches us almost instantly. So, the time it took for the thunder to reach us, which is 5 seconds, is the time it took for sound to travel from the storm to us.
The speed of sound is 767 miles/hour, which is equivalent to 767/3600 miles/second. So, the distance to the storm can be calculated using the formula: Distance = Speed × Time. Substituting the values, we have:
Distance = (767/3600) miles/second × 5 seconds = 1.26 miles
Therefore, the storm is approximately 1.26 miles away.