suppose you fire a bullet speed 1600 m/s in a shooting gallery and hear the gong on the target ring .731s later taking the speed of sound to be 330m/s and assuming the bullet travels straight downrange at a constant speed, how far does the bullet travel before hitting the target?

thanks so much!

45

To find the distance the bullet traveled before hitting the target, we can use the formula:

Distance = Speed × Time

Given that the speed of the bullet is 1600 m/s, and the time it takes for the sound to travel from the target to you is 0.731 seconds:

Distance = 1600 m/s × 0.731s

Distance = 1168.64 meters

Therefore, the bullet travels approximately 1168.64 meters before hitting the target.

To find the distance traveled by the bullet before hitting the target, we need to determine the time it takes for the bullet to reach the target after it is fired.

Given:
Speed of the bullet (vbullet) = 1600 m/s
Speed of sound (vsound) = 330 m/s
Time difference (t) = 0.731 s

We can calculate the time it takes for the bullet to reach the target by subtracting the time it takes for the sound to travel from the time difference:

Time taken by the bullet (tbullet) = t - (distance/vsound)

Now, we can rearrange the equation to find the distance traveled by the bullet before hitting the target:

Distance traveled by the bullet (dbullet) = vbullet * tbullet

Let's substitute the given values and calculate the distance:

tbullet = t - (dbullet/vsound)

dbullet = vbullet * (t - (dbullet/vsound))

1600 * (0.731 - (dbullet/330)) = dbullet

1600 * 0.731 - (1600 * dbullet/330) = dbullet

1168 - (1600 * dbullet/330) = dbullet

Let's simplify the equation by multiplying through by 330:

384480 - 1600 * dbullet = 330 * dbullet

384480 = 1930 * dbullet

dbullet = 384480 / 1930

dbullet ≈ 199.38 meters

Therefore, the bullet travels approximately 199.38 meters before hitting the target.

Let

L = length of the gallery, m.
b = speed of bullet, m/s
s = speed of sound, m/s
t = Time delay, sec.

Time for bullet to reach target
t1 = L/b
Time for sound to reach shooter
t2 = L/s
Total time
t = t1 + t2
Solve for L,