Is a sonic boom heard by the passengers traveling in a supersonic aircraft? why or why not? a.) they do not experience any shift in frequency because they are traveling at the same speed as that of the sound source.
b.) they do not experience any shift because they are traveling at a lower speed than that of the sound source.
c.) they will experience a small shift in frequency because they are traveling at a lower speed than that of the sound source.
d.) they will experience a large shift in frequency because they are traveling at a greater speed than that of the sound source.

No the sonic boom is not heard by the passenger travelling in a supersonic aircraft. They do not experience any shift in the frequency as they are travelling at the speed of the source itself.Thus option 'a' is correct answer.

Explanation:

Sonic boom is a shock wave of sound associated when a source travels faster than the speed of sound in the ambient conditions. In a shock wave associated with the sonic boom there exists high gradients of pressure, density and temperature of air across the shock wave. The shock wave travels at the speed of the sound but the source (in our case the passenger) travels at a faster speed than the sound in ambient conditions.