How deep is the water if it takes a pulse of ultrasound 0.8s to be received back at the boat. the speed of ultrasound is 1600m/s in water

firstly we know how fast the wave is travelling and we know for how long so using our speed equals distance over time equation we can rearange for distance (D= VT).

we can the plug in our speed(V) and our time (T) to get distance = 1600 x 0.8                                     this gives use a distance of 1280 m.

however we have to rememeber that the wave had to go down to the sea floor then back up to the boat so it has travelled two times the depth of the sea.

therefore the depth of the sea is 1280 / 2  = 640m

RC
Answered by Ross C. Physics tutor

6808 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Identify which of the following would be the most appropriate choice of fuse for a 1200W kettle operating on UK mains electricity (230V). A) 3A Fuse B) 5A Fuse C) 10A Fuse D) 13A Fuse


What is the structure of atoms


An electric Iron rated at 2600 W contains a steel plate, heated to a working temperature of 215°C. Room temp=18°C. Deduce whether the plate could reach its working temperature in less than 1 minute. Mass (steel plate)=890g & C (steel)=450J/kg/K


Describe the motion of a moving object with a given Displacement-Time graph. For each section on the graph, indicate the direction of motion and identify if the object is accelerating or not. What would the object's Velocity-Time graph look like?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning