Figure 9 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 0.23s. 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 9 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 6 - 2023 - Paper 1

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Figure 9 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 ... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Figure 9 shows two technicians, L and M, measuring the speed of sound in air - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 6 - 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, we can use the formula:

ext{Time} = rac{ ext{Distance}}{ ext{Speed}} = rac{120 ext{ m}}{330 ext{ m/s}}

The calculation gives:

ext{Time} = 0.36 ext{ seconds}

Step 2

Calculate the percentage of M's reaction time

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Answer

Next, we convert M's reaction time into a percentage of the time sound takes:

ext{Percentage} = rac{ ext{M's Reaction Time}}{ ext{Time for Sound}} imes 100 \\ = rac{0.23 ext{ s}}{0.36 ext{ s}} imes 100 \\ \\ = 63.89 ext{%} \\ \\text{(Rounded down to 63 ext{%})}

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