- #1
EngnrMatt
- 34
- 0
Homework Statement
A room has dimensions 2.59 m (height) × 5.81 m × 6.09 m. A fly starting at one corner flies around, ending up at the diagonally opposite corner. (a) What is the magnitude of its displacement? (b) If the fly walks rather than flies, what is the length of the shortest path it can take? (Hint: This can be answered without calculus. The room is like a box. Unfold its walls to flatten them into a plane.)
Homework Equations
I'm thinking c=ab*sin([itex]\phi[/itex]) has something to do with it (cross product)
The Attempt at a Solution
I took the hint, but honestly I tried it several different ways before giving up. I have an absolutely terrible physics professor and even worse, the book is just as bad at explaining (Halliday and Resnick). I think that this has something to do with cross products of vectors though.