Question

The long slow moan produced by blue whales is almost consistently B pitch at frequency of 16.0 Hz. The wavelength of this note is 97.5 m. How long does it take for this sound to travel to a team of scientists that is tracking them from 11.0 km away?

Answer 1

To calculate the time it takes for the sound to travel from the blue whales to the team of scientists, we can use the formula:

Time = Distance / Speed

First, let's convert the wavelength from meters to kilometers:

Wavelength = 97.5 m = 97.5 m / 1000 = 0.0975 km

Next, we need to determine the speed of sound in water. The speed of sound in water depends on various factors such as temperature, salinity, and pressure. Typically, the speed of sound in seawater is around 1,500 meters per second (m/s), or 1.5 km/s.

Now we can calculate the time it takes for the sound to travel the distance of 11.0 km:

Time = Distance / Speed Time = 11.0 km / 1.5 km/s Time ≈ 7.33 seconds

Therefore, it takes approximately 7.33 seconds for the sound produced by the blue whales to travel to the team of scientists who are 11.0 km away.