During a fireworks show, a family sees the spray of sparkles from an exploding firework high in the sky and, a moment later, hears the pop. Which of these best explains why the pop and spray do not seem to occur at the same time?

Question

During a fireworks show, a family sees the spray of sparkles from an exploding firework high in the sky and, a moment later, hears the pop. Which of these best explains why the pop and spray do not seem to occur at the same time?

a. light and sound travel through air
b. sound travels through a vacuum
c. sound travels slower than light
d. light and sound travel at the same speed

Answer 1

c. sound travels slower than light

This is because light travels faster than sound. When the firework explodes, the light travels much faster to reach the family's eyes, while the sound wave takes longer to propagate through the air to reach their ears, creating a slight delay between the two sensations.