Question

During an Apollo moon landing, reflecting panels were placed on the moon. This allowed earth-based astronomers to shoot laser beams at the moon's surface to determine its distance. The reflected laser beam was observed 2.52 s after the laser pulse was sent. The speed of light is 3.0 × 108 m/s. What was the distance between the astronomers and the moon?

Answer 1

Answer:

$3.78 \times {10}^{8} m$

Explanation:

Distance is given by

$\frac{ct}{2} \: \: \: \: \: \: \: \: \: \: \: \:\: where \\ c \: is \: velocity \\ t \: is \: time \: \: \: \: \: \: \\ by \: 2 \: because \: of \: two \: way \: travel$

$= \frac{3 \times {10}^{8} \times 2.52}{2} = 3.78 \times {10}^{8} m$