Mike's Yacht, Sailboat Distance Minimization

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SUMMARY

The discussion focuses on a problem involving two boats: a yacht traveling west at 6 km/h and a sailboat sailing southwest at 4 km/h. The initial distance between the yacht and the sailboat is 3 km northwest. The solution involves using the Pythagorean theorem to determine the minimum distance between the two boats over time. Key corrections include adjusting the sailboat's velocity to reflect its true speed and clearly defining the coordinate system used in the calculations.

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Homework Statement


Mike, who i standing on the deck of a yacth that is traveling due west at 6km/h, sees a sailboat sailing southwestat 4km/h, 3km northwest of the yacht. How close to each other do these boats get?

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution


My drawing is:
| A(2.12-4t,2.12-4t)
| / \
| / \
|/__\B(4.24-6t,0)

Used pythagorean theorem to find t D^2=(2.12-4t-0)^2+(2.12-4t-(4.24-6t))^2

Correct so far?
 
Last edited:
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You have sailboat A with a velocity of <-4, -4>. That gives a speed of
\sqrt{16+ 16}= 4\sqrt{2}, not 4. You need to multiply by
\frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}, just like you did with the initial position.

And it would be a good idea to specifically state, in your final answer, which sailboat is A and which B and how your coordinate system is set up.
 

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