Depth of a Water Well by dropping a rock

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves determining the depth of a water well based on the time it takes for a rock to hit the water and for the sound of the splash to travel back to the person who dropped it. The context includes kinematics and the speed of sound in air.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between the time taken for the rock to fall and the time for the sound to travel back, noting the need to separate these two components. There is an attempt to derive an equation that connects the depth of the well with the time variables involved.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different aspects of the problem. Some have suggested deriving a general equation to relate depth and time, while others have raised concerns about additional factors, such as the drag force on the rock.

Contextual Notes

Participants are considering the implications of ignoring certain factors, such as the travel time of sound, and the potential effects of water drag on the rock's descent.

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Homework Statement



A man drops a rock into a well. He hears the sound of the splash 3.2 seconds after he releases the rock from rest. The speed of sound in air (at the local ambient condition) is 338 m/s

(a) How far below the top of the well is the surface of the water? (round your answer to a whole number)

(b) If you ignored the travel time for the sound, what would have been the calculated depth? (round your answer to a whole number)

time of rock + time of sound = 3.2s
acceleration = -9.8 m/s^2
V_i = 0 m/s
V_sound = 338 m/s

Homework Equations



x=x_0 + v_0*t + (1/2)at^2


The Attempt at a Solution



x = 0 + 0 + (1/2)(-9.8)(3.2)^2

However, I realized, this is incorrect because I also need to account the time the sound took to travel to the person's ear subtracted by the 3.2 seconds. My problem is, how do I find the time it took to reach the person's ear when the rock hit the surface of the water?
 
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Obviously, the rock takes time ##t_1## to hit the water, and the sound takes time ##t_2## to reach you. As you wrote, ##t_1 + t_2 = t = 3.2 \ \text{s}##.
 
You want to find the depth of the well, d. So, try to derive an equation that relates t and d.

For example, if d = 10m, it would be quite easy to work out t. So, try to use this approach to relate d and t generally.
 
Hi
There r also some different issues like drag force of water on shape of rock so how this is possible
 

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