A student is standing 600 m from a firework display - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 2 - 2016 - Paper 1
Question 2
A student is standing 600 m from a firework display.
A firework explodes with a loud bang, and a flash of light is seen.
Describe how a student can measure the tim... show full transcript
Worked Solution & Example Answer:A student is standing 600 m from a firework display - Edexcel - GCSE Physics Combined Science - Question 2 - 2016 - Paper 1
Step 1
Describe how a student can measure the time it takes for the sound wave from the loud bang to travel 600 m.
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Answer
To measure the time taken for the sound wave from the loud bang to travel 600 m, the student should:
Use a stopwatch: The student should have a stopwatch ready to measure time precisely.
Start timing: The student should start the stopwatch as soon as the flash of light from the firework is seen.
Stop timing: The stopwatch should be stopped when the loud bang of the firework is heard.
This method will accurately record the time taken for the sound wave to travel the distance.
Step 2
What is the amplitude of this wave?
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Answer
The amplitude of the wave shown in Figure 2 is the maximum height from the equilibrium position to the crest of the wave. From the graph, the maximum height is approximately 2.8 cm, so the amplitude is therefore: