Earthquakes are essentially sound waves—called seismic waves—traveling through the earth. Because the earth is solid, it can support both longitudinal and transverse seismic waves. The speed of longitudinal waves, called P waves, is 8400 m/s . Transverse waves, called S waves, travel at a slower 5000 m/s . A seismograph records the two waves from a distant earthquake. If the S wave arrives 2.4 minutes after the P wave, how far away was the earthquake? You can assume that the waves travel in straight lines, although actual seismic waves follow more complex routes.

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anonymous · Answer

I tried to solve this, and I got 1.7 x 10^6 metres, but that isn't correct. Help?