If it takes a Sonar echo 8 seconds to reach the bottom of the ocean and return and we know that the speed of sound is 1500 meters per second, how far away is the bottom of the ocean?

Question

8000 meters

6000 meters

4000 meters

1200 meters

Answer 1

To find the distance to the bottom of the ocean, we can use the formula for distance, which is:

\[ \text{Distance} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} \]

In this case, the time given is the total time for the sonar echo to travel to the bottom and back to the surface, which is 8 seconds. Therefore, the time for the sonar wave to reach the bottom is half of this:

\[ \text{Time to bottom} = \frac{8 \text{ seconds}}{2} = 4 \text{ seconds} \]

Now we can calculate the distance to the bottom using the speed of sound in water, which is 1500 meters per second:

\[ \text{Distance to bottom} = \text{Speed} \times \text{Time} = 1500 \text{ m/s} \times 4 \text{ s} = 6000 \text{ meters} \]

So, the distance to the bottom of the ocean is 6000 meters.