Question

A Swiss mountain climber stands at the opening of a huge canyon. He claps his hands and hears a return echo 5.1 seconds later. How far away is the far wall?

Answer 1

Assuming that sound travels at a constant speed of 343 meters per second (the speed of sound in air at a temperature of 20 degrees Celsius), we can use the following formula to calculate the distance to the far wall:

distance = (speed of sound × time) / 2

Since the sound traveled from the climber to the far wall and back, we divide the total time by 2. Substituting the values given in the problem, we get:

distance = (343 m/s × 5.1 s) / 2

distance = 875.7 meters

Therefore, the far wall is approximately 875.7 meters away from the Swiss mountain climber.