The discussion revolves around determining the depth of a lake based on the time it takes for sound to travel to the bottom and back. The original poster presents a scenario involving the speed of sound in water and the time measurement provided.
Participants are exploring different interpretations of the problems presented. While some guidance has been offered regarding the echo problem, there is no explicit consensus on the correctness of the initial calculation for the lake's depth. The discussion remains open with further questions being posed.
There is uncertainty regarding the speed of sound in water, as it was not explicitly provided in the original question. Additionally, the second problem introduces a new scenario that relies on understanding the concept of echoes, which has led to further questions and clarifications among participants.
phyzguy said:Oh, I assumed you were given the speed of sound in water at 1500 m/s, but it still looks good, since Wikipedia says the speed of sound in water is 1484 m/s (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_of_sound). What is your other question?
phyzguy said:It's conceptually the same as the first one. Treat it the same way. What is an echo?
phyzguy said:An echo means the sound went from the ship to the cliff, was reflected from the cliff and traveled back to the ship, where it was heard. Does this help?
phyzguy said:How far does the sound have to go to go from the ship to the cliff and back?