Trig type question -- Speed of sound in water and in air

Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
2 replies · 1K views
classicswiss
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
New user has been reminded to show their work on schoolwork questions
Homework Statement
An explosion occurs on the surface of a lake, and the explosion is felt some distance from the site or origin by a hydrophone below the water and by a microphone in air directly above the microphone. Taking the speed of sound in air to be 343m/s and the speed of sound in water to be 1,500 and a delay of 0.3 seconds between both the hydrophone and microphone receiving it, how far is the hydrophone from the explosion?
Relevant Equations
speed= distance / time
unsure
 
Physics news on Phys.org
classicswiss said:
Homework Statement:: An explosion occurs on the surface of a lake, and the explosion is felt some distance from the site or origin by a hydrophone below the water and by a microphone in air directly above the microphone. Taking the speed of sound in air to be 343m/s and the speed of sound in water to be 1,500 and a delay of 0.3 seconds between both the hydrophone and microphone receiving it, how far is the hydrophone from the explosion?
Relevant Equations:: unsure

unsure
It's a question about distances speeds and times. If you've not encountered any relevant equations for that combo your education is sorely lacking.

Per forum rules , you must show some attempt.
 
If we assume that the phrase "directly above the hydrophone" means that the vertical distance between the hydrophone and the microphone is negligible, then it is a simple linear (first degree) equation you have to solve to answer this.
Assume ##x## is the distance of the hydrophone from the explosion and ##t=0 ## is the time that the explosion happens. Try to answer the following two questions (answer will be in terms of ##x## and the speed of sound in water and/or in air)
  1. After how much time ##t_1## the microphone picks the sound ,
  2. After how much time ##t_2## the hydrophone picks the sound.
It is given that ##t_1-t_2=0.3## so if you answer the above two questions, you can plug the expressions of ##t_1## and ##t_2## in the latter equation and solve for ##x##.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Lnewqban