Question

A sound wave travels at 340 meters per second. How far from the source the wave has traveled after 0.50 seconds?

Answer 1

`170m`

Explanation:

`0.50` can also be written as `1/2`.

`0.50` seconds is half of a second.

if the wave travels `340m` every second, it will travel half of that distance in `0.50` seconds.

`340 * 1/2 = 340/2`

`= 170`

in half of a second, the wave will have travelled `170` metres away from its source.

Answer 2

`"distance" = 170 m`

Explanation:

The velocity of the wave is `v = 340 m/s`. The formula for velocity is

`v = "distance"/"time"`

An application of algebra will show us that

`"distance" = v*"time"`

Plugging our data into that last version of the formula for velocity

`"distance" = (340 m/cancel(s))*0.50 cancel(s) = 170 m`

I hope this helps,
Steve