If the time discrepancy is 0.5 nanoseconds, what is the distance error in meters?

• A. 0.15 m
• B. 0.5 m
• C. 1.5 m
• D. 0.75 m

Answer: (A)

Distance error from a time discrepancy is found by multiplying the signal’s travel speed by the time error. For light-speed signals, distance error = c × Δt. With Δt = 0.5 nanoseconds = 0.5 × 10^-9 s and c ≈ 299,792,458 m/s, the product is about 0.1499 meters, i.e., roughly 0.15 m. So the distance error is about 0.15 meters. The other options would require larger time errors (for example, 0.5 m corresponds to about 1.67 ns), which isn’t the given discrepancy.