Solving Submarine Problem - Alex

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving the use of sonar waves by a submarine to determine the distance to another ship based on the time taken for an echo to return. The subject area includes concepts from acoustics and fluid dynamics, particularly focusing on the speed of sound in water and its dependencies.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Conceptual clarification

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore the speed of sound in water and its implications for calculating distance based on the echo time. Questions arise regarding the effects of temperature and pressure on sound speed, as well as the need to account for the round trip of the sound wave.

Discussion Status

The discussion is active, with participants providing hints and asking clarifying questions. Some guidance has been offered regarding the speed of sound and its dependencies, while others are considering the implications of including temperature in their calculations. Multiple interpretations of how to approach the problem are being explored.

Contextual Notes

Participants note that the problem includes temperature as a factor, which may complicate the calculations. There is also mention of using standard values for the speed of sound in seawater, suggesting that specific conditions may be relevant to the problem.

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Hi,

I need to solve this problem but I have no idea where to start. I made a little drawing with all the informations I have but now I'm stuck. Here's the problem:

A submarine uses sonar waves, to identify other ships, by directing a highly directional acoustic pulse at a target, and computing the time duration between the transmission of the "ping", and the return of the echo. If a sub is a depth of 500m and receives a ping return in 5.6s, determine the direct distance to the ship.

I'm not looking for the answer, just a little hint of what to start with. Thanks a lot !

- alex.
 
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What's the speed of sound in water? How far must the sound have traveled in 5.6s? (Don't forget that the sound makes a round trip.)
 
Great ! Thanks. One last question, does the temperature affects anything ? Thanks !
 
Both pressure and temperature will affect the speed of sound. (But I'll bet you can ignore such complications.)
 
The problem actually include the temperature, so I guess I need to include it in my formula. I google'd for it but could only find tables. If density of water is 1, what formula should I use ?

Thanks !
 
Unless this problem is meant to exercise your detailed understanding of the speed of sound in a liquid (the speed depends on the bulk modulus and density, which in turn depend on pressure and temperature), I would just look up the speed of sound (in seawater... salinity counts!) at some standard temperature. That should be good enough.
 

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