1. Two science club members wish to measure how fast sound travels along a long steel railway track.
They place their microphones exactly 990m apart on the same rail. One student taps the rail sharply with a hammer near the first microphone. The second microphone registers the pulse after 0.18s.
Answer the following questions based on this information.
(a) Calculate the speed of sound along the steel rail in ms−1.
(b) Express the speed obtained in part (a) in kmh−1, showing all steps of unit conversion.
(c) The speed of sound in air at room temperature is approximately 343ms−1. How many times faster does sound travel in the steel rail than in air? Round your answer to one decimal place.