How Does River Flow Affect a Swimmer's Resultant Velocity?

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a problem involving a swimmer's resultant velocity while swimming across a river with a current. The subject area includes concepts of vector addition and relative motion in physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants explore whether to add or subtract the swimmer's speed and the river's current to determine the resultant velocity. There are questions about the correct method of combining these velocities, particularly in the context of vector addition.

Discussion Status

The conversation is ongoing, with participants clarifying the direction of swimming relative to the river's flow and debating the appropriate mathematical operations to use. There is no explicit consensus yet, but various interpretations of the problem are being discussed.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the specific scenario of swimming across the river rather than against the current, which influences their reasoning about the resultant velocity.

dance_sg
Messages
113
Reaction score
0
1.A girl can swim 4.5m/s. If she tries to swim across a river flowing at 3.8m/s, what is her resultant velocity?



2. cosine, sine, tangent, v=vf -v i



3. would i just subtract 3.8m/s from 4.5m/s in order to find the velocity?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Note, she is swimming ACROSS a river, not against the stream.
[tex]\vec V_{12}= \vec V_1-\vec V_2[/tex]
 
So you would add the two numbers rather then subtract them??
 
oh oops. i meant to say that i would subtact 4.5 from 3.8 instead and it would be negative?
 
vector addition.
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 12 ·
Replies
12
Views
4K
Replies
5
Views
8K
Replies
10
Views
4K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
Replies
6
Views
2K
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 9 ·
Replies
9
Views
7K
  • · Replies 16 ·
Replies
16
Views
4K
Replies
14
Views
3K