Question

The time between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder can be used to estimate the distance from a lightning strike. The distance from the strike is the number of seconds between seeing the flash and hearing the thunder divided by five suppose you’re 18 miles from a lightning strike and solve an equation to find how many seconds there would be between the flash and thunder.

Answer 1

To estimate the distance from a lightning strike using the time interval between seeing the flash and hearing the thunder, we use the formula:

\[
\text{Distance (miles)} = \frac{\text{Time (seconds)}}{5}
\]

In this case, we're told that you are 18 miles from the lightning strike. We can set up the equation as follows:

\[
18 = \frac{\text{Time}}{5}
\]

To find the time (seconds), we can multiply both sides of the equation by 5:

\[
18 \times 5 = \text{Time}
\]

Calculating that gives:

\[
\text{Time} = 90 \text{ seconds}
\]

Thus, there would be 90 seconds between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder if you are 18 miles away from the strike.