Calculating Velocity of River and Boat

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the velocities of a river current and a boat navigating across the river. The boat is steered at an angle while maintaining a straight path across the river.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the relationship between the angles of the boat's direction and the river's flow. There is mention of using the sine rule in a non-right angled triangle to find velocities. Some participants identify the scenario as involving a right triangle, with the boat's velocity as the hypotenuse.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring the geometry of the problem and confirming the right triangle setup. Some guidance has been offered regarding the angles involved, but no consensus has been reached on the complete solution.

Contextual Notes

Participants are working with a free body diagram and are trying to clarify the angles involved in the triangle formed by the velocities. There is an acknowledgment of potential confusion due to fatigue.

tregeat
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Homework Statement


A river flows toward 90 degrees. A river boat pilot heads the boat at 297 degrees and is able to go straight across the river at 6 m/s.


Homework Equations


What is the velocity of the current?
What is the velocity of the boat?


The Attempt at a Solution


I drew a free bodied diagram but i don't know what to put where.
 
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now the first question you have to ask yourself is the angle between the the direction in which the boat is steered and the direction of the river flow.

once you have done this, the velocities can be easily found by sine rule in a non-right angled triangle.
 
k thanks.
 
wait so i found the angle between the current and the boat but what are the other two angles?
 
tregeat said:
wait so i found the angle between the current and the boat but what are the other two angles?

It's actually a right triangle... the hypoteneuse is the velocity of the boat... the two legs of the right triangle are the river velocity and the net velocity of 6m/s to the right.
 
thanks
 
learningphysics said:
It's actually a right triangle... the hypoteneuse is the velocity of the boat... the two legs of the right triangle are the river velocity and the net velocity of 6m/s to the right.

oh yeh its a right angled tiangle, how could i have missed that haha i guess i was feeling too sleepy
 

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