Question

A common way to measure the distance to lightning is to start counting, one count per second, as soon as you see the flash. Stop counting when you hear the thunder and divide by five to get the distance in miles. Use this information to estimate the speed of sound in m/s. Show your work below. This will require some conversions.

Answer 1

d = 1.07 mile

Step-by-step explanation:

The rationale for this method is that the speed of light is much greater than the speed of sound, the definition of speed in uniform motion is

v = d / t

d = v t

the speed of sound is worth

v = 343 m / s

Therefore, the speed of sound must be multiplied by time to do this, all the units must be in the same system, as the distance in miles is requested

v = 343 m/s (1mile/1609 m) (3600s/1 h) = 343 (2.24) = 767.4 mile/h

v = 343 m / s (1 mile / 1609 m) = 0.213, mile/ s

If the measured time is t = 5s we multiply it by the speed

we substitute

d = 0.213 5

d = 1.07 mile

If you want to calculate the speed, this method in general is not widely used, since you must know the distance where the lightning occurred, which is relatively complicated.