When lightning strikes, it causes air to become heated to an extremely high temp

Question

When lightning strikes, it causes air to become heated to an extremely high temperature in a short amount of time, rapidly expanding the air. This explosive expansion is the source of thunder. The light from the lightning travels in air at 3 × 108 m/s and the sound of the thunderclap travels in air at 343 m/s. If you are standing 4700 m away from the storm, approximately how much time passes between you seeing the flash of lightning and you hearing the sound of thunder? Round to the nearest second.

Explanation / Answer

Soluiton:

Using the formula distance = velocity x time

First lets calculate the time it takes to see the flash,

=> t = 4700 / 3 x 10^8

=> t = 1566.67 x 10^-8 sec

Now time it takes to hear sound ,

=> t = 4700 / 343

=> t = 13.7 seconds

Now time passes between seeing flash and hearing

=> 13.7 - 1566.67 x 10^-8

=> 13.6999984 seconds

Now Round to nearest seconds will give 13.7 seconds as the answer.

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