Reference Frame Question: How come wind relative to boat doesn't matter?

AI Thread Summary
The discussion centers on the concept of relative motion in physics, specifically regarding why wind relative to a boat is deemed irrelevant in certain scenarios. It highlights that the problem does not involve forces, which may contribute to the confusion. The mention of a motor boat raises questions about how wind might affect its movement, but the core issue remains focused on the principles of relative velocity. Participants express frustration over the perceived semantic complexities in physics problems. Ultimately, the relevance of wind in this context is clarified as not impacting the fundamental physics being analyzed.
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Homework Statement


http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3834/relativeboatvelocity.jpg


The note says "( Wind relative to boat is irrelevant! )"

Why is it irrelevant?
 
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Suppose it's a motor boat?
It could be that another version of the question also asks something about the wind.
 
Bah. If physics is a language of precision why go out of the way to play semantic games in word problems?

No such problem, but you're right this problem doesn't involve any sort of "forces".
 
Kindly see the attached pdf. My attempt to solve it, is in it. I'm wondering if my solution is right. My idea is this: At any point of time, the ball may be assumed to be at an incline which is at an angle of θ(kindly see both the pics in the pdf file). The value of θ will continuously change and so will the value of friction. I'm not able to figure out, why my solution is wrong, if it is wrong .
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