Question

Thunder and lightning both occur simultaneously but thunder is heard a few seconds

after lightning appears. Give a reason.


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Answer 1

Answer:

Speed of sound in air  (330 ms  −1  ) is very less than the speed of light in the air  (3×10^8  m/s).

Hence although flash and thunder are produced simultaneously, light (flash) reaches the earth's surface a little earlier than sound (i.e thunder).

So thunder is heard a few seconds after the flash is seen.

Answer 2

Answer:

If we are watching the sky, we see the lightning before we hear the thunder. That is because light travels much faster than sound waves. We can estimate the distance of the lightning by counting how many seconds it takes until we hear the thunder. It takes approximately 5 seconds for the sound to travel 1 mile.