Simon suffers an injury at a campsite on the bank of a canal

ilii
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Homework Statement


Simon suffers an injury at a campsite on the bank of a canal that is 6sqrt(2) km wide. if he is able to paddle his kayak at 5km/h and pedal a bicycle at 15km/h along the opposite bank, where should be land on the opposite bank to reach the hospital in minimum time?

Homework Equations


assuming Pythagorean theorem , etc.
when you find the equation, then find the derivative and make it = 0 to find max/min
answer

The Attempt at a Solution


I get the hypotenuse to c=6sqrt(2)+x but don't know where to go from here. Help would be appreciated. Diagram included and is an exact copy of the diagram that was provided with the question.
 

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ilii said:

Homework Statement


Simon suffers an injury at a campsite on the bank of a canal that is 6sqrt(2) km wide. if he is able to paddle his kayak at 5km/h and pedal a bicycle at 15km/h along the opposite bank, where should be land on the opposite bank to reach the hospital in minimum time?

Homework Equations


assuming Pythagorean theorem , etc.
when you find the equation, then find the derivative and make it = 0 to find max/min
answer

The Attempt at a Solution


I get the hypotenuse to c=6sqrt(2)+x but don't know where to go from here.
What makes you think that is the hypotenuse? What you have is just the sum of the width of the canal and the distance down the other side. In your relevant equations, you list the theorem of Pythagoras. Do you know how to use it to find the hypotenuse of a right triangle?
ilii said:
Help would be appreciated. Diagram included and is an exact copy of the diagram that was provided with the question.
 
Simon paddles the hypoteneuse at 5km/h, taking time ##t_p##, then cycles the remaining distance at 15km/h, taking time ##t_c##. Total time ##t = t_p+t_c##, which will be a function of x.
 
Last edited:
There are two things I don't understand about this problem. First, when finding the nth root of a number, there should in theory be n solutions. However, the formula produces n+1 roots. Here is how. The first root is simply ##\left(r\right)^{\left(\frac{1}{n}\right)}##. Then you multiply this first root by n additional expressions given by the formula, as you go through k=0,1,...n-1. So you end up with n+1 roots, which cannot be correct. Let me illustrate what I mean. For this...
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