Problem pertaining to relative velocity and vector components

In summary, the woman will need to point her boat at an angle of arctan(x component of vector/y component of vector) to the i axis in order to row in a straight line to a point directly opposite her starting position. She will take 19.53 hours to make the crossing, if she rows in a straight line to a point directly opposite her starting position.
  • #1
Puppetstring
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0
A woman who can row a boat at 6.4 km/h in still water faces a long, straight river with a width of 6.3 km and a current of 3.3 km/h. Let i point directly across the river and j point directly downstream. If she rows in a straight line to a point directly opposite her starting position,

(a) at what angle to i must she point the boat

(b) how long (in hours) will she take?

(c) How long (in hours) will she take if, instead, she rows 3.6 km down the river and then back to her starting point?

(d) How long (in hours) if she rows 3.6 km up the river and then back to her starting point?

(e) At what angle to i should she point the boat if she wants to cross the river in the shortest possible time?

(f) How long (in hours) is that shortest time?

In your response, please clearly indicate which portion of the question you are answering, and detail how you reached that answer. Additionally, in this problem i = x-axis and j = y-axis, though the i (x) is the vertical axis and the j (y) is the horizontal axis in this problem



2. Pythagorean theorem
The y component of the angle in part a is cos (theta) = y/(6.4 km/h)
The x component of the angle in part a is sin (theta)
Theta in part a is arctan(x component of vector/y componenet of vector)
Velocity*time = displacement




A.) , I know the x and y components of the vector 6.4 (km/h) needs to be found in order to use arctan(x/y) to find the angle theta that the boat makes with the x (vertical/i) axis, and that the width of the river might be used somehow to find the x(i) vector component)

B.) For part b, the velocity of the boat (Vb (wrt w) with respect to the water needs to be found using the velocity of the boat with respect to the ground (Vb wrt g) and the velocity of the boat with respect to the ground (VB wrt g). I tried (VB wrt g) - (VW wrt g) = (VB wrt w) and received the answer 3.1 (km/h), but when this is multiplied by the 6.3 km she needs to travel, it results that it will take her 19.53 hours to make the crossing, but this does not follow common logic, and also starkly deviates from the answer to a problem similar to this (same scenario, different numerical values).
 
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  • #2
Puppetstring said:
A.) , I know the x and y components of the vector 6.4 (km/h) needs to be found in order to use arctan(x/y) to find the angle theta that the boat makes with the x (vertical/i) axis, and that the width of the river might be used somehow to find the x(i) vector component)
What you need to do is find the time [itex]a[/itex] such that
[tex]t \vec{v_b} + t \vec{v_c} = \vec w[/tex]
where [itex]\vec w[/itex] is the vector heading directly across the river.
 

1. What is relative velocity?

Relative velocity is the velocity of an object or an observer in relation to another object or observer. It takes into account the motion of both objects and their respective velocities.

2. How do you calculate relative velocity?

To calculate relative velocity, you need to subtract the velocity of the second object from the velocity of the first object. This can be done using vector subtraction or by using the relative velocity formula: Vrel = V1 - V2.

3. What are vector components?

Vector components are the individual parts of a vector that represent the magnitude and direction of the vector. They are typically represented by x and y coordinates in a Cartesian coordinate system.

4. How do vector components relate to relative velocity?

Vector components are used to break down the relative velocity of an object into its horizontal and vertical components. This allows for a more accurate calculation of the relative velocity in different directions.

5. What are some real-life applications of relative velocity and vector components?

Relative velocity and vector components are used in various fields, including physics, engineering, and navigation. They are used to calculate the velocity of objects in motion, such as airplanes and ships, and to predict the movement of objects in different directions.

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