Ocean Depth
A sailor strikes the side of his ship just below the waterline. He hears the echo of the sound reflected from the ocean floor directly below 1.82 s later. How deep is the ocean at this point? The speed of sound in sea water is 1560 = m/s.
1420 m
1420 m
Approach
The distance traveled by the sound waves is from the ship to the bottom of the ocean and back, i.e., twice the depth of the ocean.
Solution
Given quantities:
- Time t = 1.82 s
- Speed of sound in sea water vsea water = 1560 m/s