Figure 6 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air. L fires a starting pistol. M starts a stopwatch when first seeing the smoke from the starting pistol. M stops the stopwatch when hearing the bang made by the starting pistol. The distance between L and M is 120m. M's reaction time is 0.23 s. The speed of sound in air is 330 m/s. (i) Calculate M's reaction time as a percentage of the time sound takes to travel from L to M.

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Figure 6 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 4 - 2023 - Paper 1

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Figure 6 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air. L fires a starting pistol. M starts a stopwatch when first seeing the smoke from the s... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Figure 6 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 4 - 2023 - Paper 1

Step 1

Calculate the time of travel from L to M

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Answer

To calculate the time it takes for sound to travel from L to M, use the formula:

$t = \frac{d}{v}$

where:

$d = 120 \, \text{m}$ (distance)
$v = 330 \, \text{m/s}$ (speed of sound)

Substituting the values:

$t = \frac{120}{330} \approx 0.36 \, \text{s}$

Step 2

Calculate M's reaction time as a percentage of the time taken

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Answer

Now, calculate M's reaction time as a percentage of the total time for sound to travel:

$\text{Percentage} = \left( \frac{\text{M's Reaction Time}}{\text{Time of Travel}} \right) \times 100$

Substituting the values:

$\text{Percentage} = \left( \frac{0.23}{0.36} \right) \times 100 \approx 63\%$

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