You are somewhere in the middle of the country and a satellite that is a short distance above San Francisco sends out a pulse that your GPS receiver tells you took 0.002 seconds to reach you. Since you know that the radio signal travels at the speed of light, how far does this mean you are from San Francisco (neglect the distance between San Francisco and the satellite)? Explain your response.
Hmmmmm. This question begs for discussion. "Ignore the distance between the satellite and SFran".....does that also mean to ignore the curvature of the Earth, otherwise, the GPS signal cannot be line of sight to the "middle of the country".
distance=velocitylight*time is probably what your teacher wants you to use.
To calculate the distance between you and San Francisco, we can use the speed of light as a reference point. The speed of light in a vacuum is approximately 299,792 kilometers per second (km/s).
The time it takes for the pulse to reach you from the satellite is given as 0.002 seconds. Since we know the speed of light, we can multiply the time it takes for the pulse to reach you by the speed of light to calculate the distance.
Distance = Speed × Time
Given that the speed of light is 299,792 km/s and the time is 0.002 seconds:
Distance = 299,792 km/s × 0.002 s
Distance = 599.584 km
Therefore, you are approximately 599.584 kilometers away from San Francisco, neglecting the distance between San Francisco and the satellite.
It's important to note that this calculation assumes a direct line of sight between you and the satellite, without considering any obstacles or atmospheric conditions that could affect the speed of the pulse.