Jim the meteorologist has predicted fair weather all day but sees flashes of lightning followed by rolls of thunder. To calculate the distance to the lightning bolt, Jim should measure the time between the instant he first sees a lightning flash and the
A) instant the lightning flash is over.
B) instant he hears the beginning of the next thunder roll.
C) instant he hears the middle of the next thunder roll.
D) instant he hears the end of the next thunder roll.
E) instant he sees the beginning of the next lightning flash.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This is because the time it takes for sound to travel from thunder to the observer is much slower than the speed of light, so there will be a delay between seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder. By timing the delay between seeing the lightning flash and hearing the beginning of the next thunder roll, Jim can calculate the distance to the lightning bolt using the speed of sound.

Jim the Meteorologist Has Predicted Fair Weather All Day but Sees