Posted by MathBard on November 04, 2002 at 17:47:50:
In Reply to: Distance posted by Randy on November 04, 2002 at 17:32:19:
: A bullet is fired at a target. 2 seconds later the impact is heard. The speed of the bullet is 2500 feet per second and the speed of sound is 1100 feet per second. How far is the target?
I bet one of the alpha-geeks can devise an intricate formula, but since the distance from A to B equals the distance from B to A, you can just average the speed (2500+1100)/2=1800 per second 1800ft to and 1800ft back takes 2 seconds, even though the bullet takes less than that to hit (.72 secs)and the sound more than that to return (1.28 secs).
MB
: Please show step by step. Thank you for your help.