An automated vehicle uses a pulse of sound to find its distance from a wall in a tunnel.
The pulse travels through air, reflects from the wall and is detected back at the vehicle. The measured time is for the journey to the wall and back.
| Quantity | Value |
|---|---|
| Speed of sound in air | 340 m/s |
| Time between sending the pulse and detecting the echo | 0.20 s |
The distance from the vehicle to the wall can be calculated using d=vt2d=\dfrac{vt}{2}d=2vt.
Calculate how far the wall is from the vehicle.
112 exam-style questions on Edexcel GCSE Physics 4.1 Wave properties, covering 4.1.1 Waves transfer energy and information, 4.1.2 Frequency, wavelength, amplitude, period and wavefronts, 4.1.3 Longitudinal and transverse waves, 4.1.4 The wave speed equations, 4.1.5 Measuring wave velocity, and 4.1.6 Calculating depth or distance from waves. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.