Which of the following describes the Mach number?

Question

A. v_object

B. [(v_object)/(v_sound)]

C. v_sound

D. [(v_sound)/(v_object)]

Answer 1

Mach 1 would mean that the object is traveling at the speed of sound. If an object is traveling at Mach 0.5, then it would be traveling at half the speed of sound. For example, if the speed of sound is 343 m/s, and the speed of the object is 171.5 m/s, then the object is traveling at half the speed of sound. 171.5/343 = 0.5, which means the object is traveling at Mach 0.5. Using that, you can determine that the answer is B.