Can Mosquitoes Fly Faster Than 80km/h?

[l-1j-cho]

so my family went to fishing and an unwelcome mosquito got into our car when the car was not moving and left the windows open. When the car was moving in 90km/h, the mosquito was flying steady in the air. Was it moving in 80km/h?

 

[boneh3ad]

In relation to you and the air in the car, no. In relation to the air outside the car, yes.

 

[KingNothing]

Generally speaking, anything flying in the air has a top speed relative to the air.

 

[Drakkith]

As the posts above show, the answer is not as simple as one might think. Determining the speed of an object requires that you define that speed in relation to another object. The mosquito is NOT flying 80 km/h to anyone inside the car, but both the mosquito and anyone inside the car will be considered to be moving at 80 km/h to someone standing still next to the road.

Also, as KingNothing said, the mosquito flies through the air, and the air itself is moving at 80 km/h to someone on the ground, yet usually you would not consider the mosquito to be flying at 80 km/h.

 

[l-1j-cho]

thanks!

 

[sophiecentaur]

You can be pretty sure that it was not flying THROUGH the air very fast. To a mozzie the air is a bit like treacle. (Different forces dominate at that scale.)