posted by Elisa on .
Please help. I got 338.82 for the velocity and wanted to get the distance, but I can't seem to do it because I don't have the wavelength. Please help!
A stone is dropped from rest into a well. The sound of the splash is heard exactly 2.20 s later. Find the depth of the well if the air temperature is 12.0°C.
Here is a site that allows one to calculate the speed of sound in air at the desired temperature.
That is the correct speed, but I don't know how to find the depth of the well, which is what the question is asking for.
Here is a site that allows one to calculate the speed of sound in air at the desired temperature.http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-speedsound.htm
Isn't distance = rate x time.
So multiply the speed of sound x 2.2 seconds = ??
Nope that doesn't give the right answer, but thanks lots for your help!
Make sure you have the right units. Do you know the answer? If speed is in meters/second then the distance will come out in meters.
I think you should take into account the time it takes for the stone to hit the water. If the distance is d, then the time needed for the stone to reach the water, t1, follows from:
1/2 g t1^2 = d ------->
t1 = sqrt(2 d/g)
The time needed for the sound to reach you is:
t2 = d/v
where v = 338.82 m/s is the speed of sound.
So, the total time is:
T = t1 + t2 = d/v + sqrt(2 d/g)
It is given that T = 2.20 s, so we get the equation:
d/v + sqrt(2 d/g) = 2.20 s
You can put d = x^2 to convert this to a quadratic equation. I find
d = 157.7 m (but I haven't double checked...)