What Angle Should a Rower Use to Cross a River with a Current?

  • Thread starter Thread starter environmental
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Boat Stream
AI Thread Summary
To cross a river with a current, the rower must calculate the angle to point the boat to counteract the current. The initial approach using the sine function to find the angle is correct, but confusion may arise from using radians instead of degrees on the calculator. The time taken to cross the river can be determined using the formula D = v*t, but requires the correct angle from the first part of the problem. Additional scenarios involving rowing downstream and upstream also need time calculations based on the same principles. Clarification on angle measurement is crucial for accurate results in this rowing problem.
environmental
Messages
2
Reaction score
0
A woman who can row a boat at 6.5 km/h in still water faces a long, straight river with a width of 6.1 km and a current of 3.4 km/h. Let point directly across the river and point directly downstream.
(a) If she rows in a straight line to a point directly opposite her starting position, at what angle to must she point the boat?
i was thinking here the opposite would be the current 3.4 divided by the velocity of the boat which is 6.5 so sin(x)=(3.4/6.5) then sin inverse of (3.4/6.5) but i get this wrong. any clues?

(b) If she rows in a straight line to a point directly opposite her starting position, how long will she take?
in this problem i think we can use D=v*t and put D/V=T to find time. am i right? but i would need the angle from above to complete this.

(c) How long will she take if, instead, she rows 3.2 km down the river and then back to her starting point?
min

(d) How long if she rows 3.2 km up the river and then back to her starting point?
min


(e) At what angle to should she point the boat if she wants to cross the river in the shortest possible time?
°

(f) How long is that shortest time?
min
 
Physics news on Phys.org
i was able to get all except for a and b if someone could please be of an assistance
 
environmental said:
i was thinking here the opposite would be the current 3.4 divided by the velocity of the boat which is 6.5 so sin(x)=(3.4/6.5) then sin inverse of (3.4/6.5) but i get this wrong. any clues?

The math is right, so you're probably confusing radians with degrees on your calculator.
 
Thread 'Struggling to make relation between elastic force and height'
Hello guys this is what I tried so far. I used the UTS to calculate the force it needs when the rope tears. My idea was to make a relationship/ function that would give me the force depending on height. Yeah i couldnt find a way to solve it. I also thought about how I could use hooks law (how it was given to me in my script) with the thought of instead of having two part of a rope id have one singular rope from the middle to the top where I could find the difference in height. But the...
Thread 'Voltmeter readings for this circuit with switches'
TL;DR Summary: I would like to know the voltmeter readings on the two resistors separately in the picture in the following cases , When one of the keys is closed When both of them are opened (Knowing that the battery has negligible internal resistance) My thoughts for the first case , one of them must be 12 volt while the other is 0 The second case we'll I think both voltmeter readings should be 12 volt since they are both parallel to the battery and they involve the key within what the...

Similar threads

Back
Top