How Do Canoeists A and B Coordinate Their Arrival Using Relative Motion?

AI Thread Summary
Canoeists A and B need to coordinate their arrival at a mutual friend's location across a 300m wide river, with A on the north shore and B on the south. The river flows east at 0.80m/s, and both canoeists can paddle at 2.4m/s. To arrive simultaneously, A must wait approximately 35.71 seconds after B sets out. The solution involves calculating their velocities relative to the observer on shore and applying the distance formula. The component method further breaks down their velocities to confirm the timing needed for A's wait.
grace lotz
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please help with relative motion problem!

I need some help with this question, i know the axis needs to be rotated but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I also need to know how to do it using the component method.

-two canoeists, A and B, live on opposite shores of a 300m wide river that flows east at .80m/s. A lives on the north shore and B lives on the south shore. They both set out to visit a mutual friend X who lives on the north shore at a point 200m upstream from A and 200m downstream for B. Both canoeists can propel their canoes at 2.4m/s through the water. How much time must canoeist A wait after canoeist B sets out so that they both arrive at X at the same time? Both canoeists make their respective trips by the most direct routes.

THANKYOU!
 
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grace lotz said:
I need some help with this question, i know the axis needs to be rotated but I'm not sure how to go about doing that. I also need to know how to do it using the component method.

-two canoeists, A and B, live on opposite shores of a 300m wide river that flows east at .80m/s. A lives on the north shore and B lives on the south shore. They both set out to visit a mutual friend X who lives on the north shore at a point 200m upstream from A and 200m downstream for B. Both canoeists can propel their canoes at 2.4m/s through the water. How much time must canoeist A wait after canoeist B sets out so that they both arrive at X at the same time? Both canoeists make their respective trips by the most direct routes.

THANKYOU!

Think in velocity vectors. For B to get to X he moves directly toward X at a velocity consisting the sum of two velocity vectors. You know the magnitude and direction of the current flow vector (.8 m/s east). You know the magnitude of the canoe vector (2.4 m/s). You know the direction of the resultant (from B to X). So the canoe must move with velocity such that its eastward speed / northward speed = 2/3.
 


To solve this problem, we can use the relative motion equation: Vab = Vao + Vob. In this equation, Vab represents the velocity of A with respect to B, Vao represents the velocity of A with respect to the observer on shore, and Vob represents the velocity of B with respect to the observer on shore.

First, we need to determine the velocity of A with respect to the observer on shore. Since the river is flowing east at 0.80m/s, A's velocity with respect to the observer on shore will be 2.4m/s + 0.80m/s = 3.2m/s to the east.

Next, we need to determine the velocity of B with respect to the observer on shore. B's velocity with respect to the observer will be 2.4m/s to the east, since they are both traveling in the same direction.

Now, we can plug these values into the relative motion equation: Vab = 3.2m/s + 2.4m/s = 5.6m/s. This means that A is moving 5.6m/s faster than B.

To find the time that A must wait after B sets out, we need to use the distance formula: d = rt. Since both A and B are traveling the same distance (200m), we can set up the following equation:

200m = 5.6m/s * t

Solving for t, we get t = 35.71 seconds. This means that A must wait 35.71 seconds after B sets out in order to arrive at X at the same time.

To solve this using the component method, we can break down the velocities into their x and y components. The velocity of A with respect to the observer on shore will have a y component of 0m/s and an x component of 3.2m/s. The velocity of B with respect to the observer on shore will have both x and y components of 2.4m/s.

Using the Pythagorean theorem, we can find the magnitude of the relative velocity between A and B: Vab = √(3.2^2 + 2.4^2) = 3.92m/s.

Now, we can use the distance formula again to find the time that A must wait after B sets out:

200m
 
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