Calculating Distance and Position of Two Moving Objects in 2D Space

[7282]

HELP! I have no clue how to figure out how far apart they are! How would I figure out how far the 2 soccer players are?


Two soccer players, Sherman and Malissa , begin running from approximately the same point at the same time. Sherman runs in easterly direction at 4.00 m/s, while Malissa takes off in a direction 60.0˚ north of east (i.e. [N 30.0˚ E]) at 5.40 m/s.
(a) How long is it before they are 25.0 m apart?
(b) How far apart are they after 4.00 s?

 

[rl.bhat]

Find the position vector of both the player at any instant. Then the the displacement vector at any instant will be the difference in the position vectors.

 

[ashishsinghal]

Show the position of the two players at any time.Then find the modulus of the vector difference between their position.