Physics

Hezekiah Peck

21 December, 23:03

Many species of bats find flying insects by emitting pulses of ultrasound and listening for the reflections. This technique is called echolocation. Bats possess several adaptations that allow them to echolocate very effectively.

Although we can't hear them, the ultrasonic pulses are very loud. In order not to be deafened by the sound they emit, bats can temporarily turn off their hearing. Muscles in the ear cause the bones in their middle ear to separate slightly, so that they don't transmit vibrations to the inner ear. After an ultrasound pulse ends, a bat can hear an echo from an object a minimum of 1 m away. Approximately how much time after a pulse is emitted is the bat ready to hear its echo?

A. 0.5 ms

B. 1 ms

C. 3 ms

D. 6 ms