Sound waves of stone in a well

AI Thread Summary
To determine the depth of a well based on the time it takes to hear a splash after dropping a stone, the total time (1.47 seconds) is divided into two parts: the time for the stone to fall (t1) and the time for sound to travel back up (t2). The equations used include the distance fallen (D = 0.5gt1^2) and the distance sound travels (D = vt2), leading to the relationship T = t1 + t2. By substituting t2 with (T - t1) and rearranging the equations, a quadratic formula is derived to solve for t1. Using the positive root of this equation, the depth of the well is calculated to be 10.2 meters.
anil
Messages
30
Reaction score
0
Hello I am trying to solve a problem:

You drop a stone into a well and hear the splash 1.47 s later. How deep is the well?

Answer is 10.2 but how do I solve it?

D = (0.5) gt squared

D = VT
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Let d be the distance the particle falls. Let T be the time take for the ball to drop and the sound to reach the observer. Let t1 be the time taken for the particle to fall, and let t2 be the time taken for the sound to reach the top of the well. Also let v be the speed of sound.

\[<br /> T = t_1 + t_2 <br /> \]<br />

\[<br /> d = \frac{1}{2}gt_1^2 = vt_2 <br /> \]<br />

\[<br /> \frac{1}{2}gt_1^2 = v(T - t_1 )<br /> \]<br />

\[<br /> \frac{1}{2}gt_1^2 + vt_1 - vT = 0<br /> \]<br />

\[<br /> t_1 = \frac{{ - v \pm \sqrt {v^2 + 2gvT} }}{g}<br /> \]<br />

Now take the positive root and use that value of t1 in the formula for d and you get,

\[<br /> d = \frac{1}{2}g(\frac{{ - v + \sqrt {v^2 + 2gvT} }}{g})^2 = 10.2<br /> \]<br />
 
The rope is tied into the person (the load of 200 pounds) and the rope goes up from the person to a fixed pulley and back down to his hands. He hauls the rope to suspend himself in the air. What is the mechanical advantage of the system? The person will indeed only have to lift half of his body weight (roughly 100 pounds) because he now lessened the load by that same amount. This APPEARS to be a 2:1 because he can hold himself with half the force, but my question is: is that mechanical...
Hello everyone, Consider the problem in which a car is told to travel at 30 km/h for L kilometers and then at 60 km/h for another L kilometers. Next, you are asked to determine the average speed. My question is: although we know that the average speed in this case is the harmonic mean of the two speeds, is it also possible to state that the average speed over this 2L-kilometer stretch can be obtained as a weighted average of the two speeds? Best regards, DaTario
Some physics textbook writer told me that Newton's first law applies only on bodies that feel no interactions at all. He said that if a body is on rest or moves in constant velocity, there is no external force acting on it. But I have heard another form of the law that says the net force acting on a body must be zero. This means there is interactions involved after all. So which one is correct?

Similar threads

Back
Top