Question

Astronauts on lunar walks used echo for distance estimation. If the round-trip time for sound transformed into a radio signal was 2.60 s, what was the approximate distance to the Moon?

a) 175,000 km
b) 300,000 km
c) 400,000 km
d) 500,000 km

Answer 1

To estimate the distance to the Moon, astronauts used echoes. The approximate distance to the Moon can be found by dividing the round-trip time by 2 and multiplying it by the speed of sound in vacuum or in the atmosphere.

Step-by-step explanation:

To estimate the distance to the Moon, astronauts on lunar walks used echoes. The round-trip time for sound transformed into a radio signal was 2.60 seconds. We can use the equation d = rt, where d is the distance and t is the time, to find the approximate distance to the Moon. Since the sound has to travel to the Moon and back, we can divide the round-trip time by 2 to get the one-way time. So, the one-way time would be 2.60 seconds / 2 = 1.30 seconds. Since the speed of sound in a vacuum is approximately 343 meters per second, we can use the equation d = rt to find the distance. The distance would be 1.30 seconds * 343 meters per second = 445.9 meters. However, we need to consider that the sound travels through the atmosphere and it takes longer to travel through water, so we need to use a value for the speed of sound of 330 meters per second. Therefore, the distance to the Moon would be 1.30 seconds * 330 meters per second = 429 meters.