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computerages
February 24th, 2006, 12:38 AM
hi every1~

I had the following question on one of my physics quiz, and I need some explanation on how'd you answer it.

"A bat detects an object 6 seconds after it emits a high frequency sound of 50,000Hz into aid at STP. How far away is the object from the bat?"

That's how I solved the problem:


d=t*v=6*331=1986m=d


But my teacher said that I was supposed to use 3 sec. instead of 6. As far as I am concerned, it can be because of taking three sec. to go forward, and the other three to move back. I am not sure what it really means, but just a thought.

swansont
February 24th, 2006, 4:32 AM
What you solved for was how far the signal traveled, which is the round-trip distance.

5614
February 24th, 2006, 7:33 AM
As in it took 6 seconds for the signal to go to the object AND back to the bat.

So it took 3 seconds to reach the object, and then another 3 for the signal to come back to the bat.