Speed involving speed of sound?

AI Thread Summary
To determine the speed of the ball, the total time of 0.72 seconds includes both the time it takes for the ball to reach the drum and the time for the sound to return. By calculating the time for sound to travel 65.8 meters at 340 m/s, which is approximately 0.19 seconds, the time for the ball to reach the drum is found to be 0.53 seconds. Using the formula speed = distance/time, the ball's speed is calculated as 123.5 m/s (65.8 meters divided by 0.53 seconds). The discussion highlights the importance of separating the time components to solve the problem accurately. The final solution confirms the correct speed of the ball based on the calculations.
hannah2329
Messages
12
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


shoot a ball at a drum 65.8 meters away from you. you hear the impact .72 seconds later. if the speed of sound on that day was 340m/s how fast must the ball be traveling?


Homework Equations


speed=distance/time


The Attempt at a Solution


i found that the ball was traveling at 91.3m/s by taking 65.8/.72 but I am not sure how to pair that with the speed of sound to get the answer.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
hannah2329 said:

Homework Statement


shoot a ball at a drum 65.8 meters away from you. you hear the impact .72 seconds later. if the speed of sound on that day was 340m/s how fast must the ball be traveling?


Homework Equations


speed=distance/time


The Attempt at a Solution


i found that the ball was traveling at 91.3m/s by taking 65.8/.72 but I am not sure how to pair that with the speed of sound to get the answer.

The .72s is the time it took for the ball to get to the drum plus the time it took the sound to come back to you. Calculate the two halves of this separately, starting with the second one.
 
im still confused. what equation would i use to involve the speed of sound number?
 
hannah2329 said:
im still confused. what equation would i use to involve the speed of sound number?

speed = distance / time
 
i still have no idea. an i supposed to take half of the .72? for the time it took to hit and the time it took the sound to get to you?
 
You know how far the sound waves traveled and the speed at which they traveled. You should be able to figure out the time it took with those two pieces of information.
 
so i take 340=65.8/t and i get that it took .19 seconds? but i don't know what to do with that because I'm not looking for a time I'm looking for a speed.
 
If the total time it takes for the ball to travel plus the sound to return to you is .72 s and you calculate the time the sound takes to be .19 seconds, how long did it take the ball to reach the drum? How can you use that time to figure out how fast the ball was traveling?
 
ahh i finally got it right with one try left. :) thank you.
 
Back
Top