A bat flying in a cave emits a sound and
receives its echo 0.4 s later.
How far away is the cave wall? Assume the
speed of sound to be 340 m/s.
Answer in units of m.
Distance * 2 (for the return)
= speed * time
= 340 m/s * 0.4 s.
Solve for distance.
To find the distance of the cave wall, we need to determine the time it takes for the sound to travel from the bat to the wall and back (round trip).
The round trip time can be calculated by multiplying the time it takes for the echo to return (0.4 s) by 2, since the sound has to travel the same distance twice – once to the wall and then back to the bat.
Round trip time = 0.4 s × 2 = 0.8 s
Now, we can use the speed of sound (340 m/s) to find the distance.
Distance = Speed × Time
Distance = 340 m/s × 0.8 s = 272 meters
Therefore, the cave wall is approximately 272 meters away from the bat.