Question

Lightning and thunder take place in the sky at the same time and at the same distance from us. Lightning is seen earlier and thunder is heard later. Can you explain why?

Answer 1

Explanation:

1. The speed of sound $(344\raisebox{1ex}{$m$}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$s$}\right.)$ is far less than the speed of light $\left(3\times {10}^8\raisebox{1ex}{$m$}\!\left/ \!\raisebox{-1ex}{$s$}\right.\right)$ in air.
2. Thus sound of thunder will take more time to reach the observer compared to light.
3. Hence, a flash of light is seen before we hear thunder.

Therefore, lightning is seen earlier and thunder is heard later.