A hunter fires a gun at a point 408 m away from a cliff. If he hears an echo 2.4 s later, determine the speed of the sound wave

Answer Details

When a sound is produced, it travels through the air as a sound wave. The speed at which sound waves travel through air is constant and depends on the air temperature. Assuming a temperature of 20°C, the speed of sound in air is approximately 340 m/s. Now, let's consider the situation in the problem. The hunter fires a gun and hears an echo 2.4 s later. The echo is the result of the sound waves reflecting off the cliff and traveling back to the hunter's ear. We know that the distance between the hunter and the cliff is 408 m. The sound wave has to travel this distance twice, once from the gun to the cliff and then from the cliff back to the hunter. So, the total distance traveled by the sound wave is 2 × 408 = 816 m. We also know that the time taken for the sound wave to travel this distance is 2.4 s. Using the formula speed = distance / time, we can calculate the speed of the sound wave as: speed = distance / time = 816 m / 2.4 s ≈ 340 m/s Therefore, the speed of the sound wave is approximately 340 m/s, which is the first option in the list.