Help river crossing confusion =(

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The discussion revolves around a river crossing problem involving a woman rowing a boat in a current. The woman rows at 6.3 km/h in still water, and the current flows at 3.2 km/h. The main questions are determining the angle at which she must head to reach a point directly opposite her starting position and calculating the time it takes to cross the river. The poster initially struggles with the vector components but ultimately finds clarity in their calculations. The conversation emphasizes the importance of understanding vector direction and resultant speeds in solving such problems.
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Woo. Nevermind the rest of this message. I figured it out =))))



Hello all :)

Am having brain fart, I need help (obiviously) from the experts! All the tutorials and examples about the classic boat crossing a river aren't helping me with this problem.

"A woman can row a boat at 6.3 km/h in still water. (Assume i points to the far side of the river, perpendicular to the current, and j points in the direction of the current.)"

At this point, I drew a diagram. As for vectors, i is 105 m/min [answers require meters/minutes] perpendicular to shore, I assumed current to be heading east (downriver in my drawing).
___________________________________
...^...105 m/min i......|
...| .........5500m
...|.........|
...--------> 0 m/min j......|

This makes sense, b/c it would take roughly 52 mins to cross to a point directly across. Then comes the confusing bits...

(a) If she is crossing a river where the current is 3.2 km/h, in what direction must her boat be headed if she wants to reach a point directly opposite her starting point? (in degrees)

(b) How long will it take her to cross the river? (in minutes)


Based on the above, i is still 105 m/min and j is now ~53.3 m/min, so the resultant would be 117.5 m/min... I think.
From there, I'm lost. Please help!

-Jen
 
Last edited:
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90 degrees- tan-1(6.3/3.2)

is the angle
 
what your email and ill send you a good diagram
 
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