Question

A man stands in between two high rise buildings and blows a whistle. He hears two successive echoes after 0.4 s and 1.6 s. Calculate the distance between the buildings. [Speed of sound = 332 ms⁻¹]

Answer 1

Distance of the man from the nearer building \[ d_1 = \frac{v \times t}{2} \]

\[d_1 = \frac{332 \times 0.4}{2}\]

∴ d₁ = 66.4 m

Distance of the man from the farther building \[ d_2 = \frac{v \times t}{2} \]

\[d_2 = \frac{332 \times 1.6}{2}\]

= 265.6 m

Total distance between the two buildings = d₁ + d₂

= (66.4 + 265.6)

= 332 m