Velocity and displacement question

AI Thread Summary
The swimmer moves at 0.15 m/s across a 100-meter-wide river and ends up 50 meters downstream, prompting questions about the speed of the current and the swimmer's direction. The initial calculation of the current's speed at 13.3 m/s is deemed incorrect, as it would result in an unrealistic downstream distance. Instead, the correct approach involves calculating the time taken to cross the river and the corresponding distance moved by the current. For part (b), a vector approach is suggested to determine the swimmer's optimal heading to reach directly across. The discussion emphasizes the need for accurate calculations and understanding of relative motion in water.
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Swimming at 0.15 m/s relative to still water, a swimmer heads directly across a 100-m-wide river. He arrives 50 m downstream from a point directly across the river from his starting point.
a) What is the speed of the current in the river?
b) In what direction should the swimmer head so as to arrive at a point directly opposite his starting point?

I got 13.3 meters/second for part (a). Can someone check this?
For part (b), I am unsure of what to do. Can someone give me a hint in the right direction?
 
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For part b: If the swimmer wanted to stay in one place, how fast would he have to swim? In what direction? Hopefully, this speed is less than the swimmer's stop speed, otherwise there'd be no way he could swim across without being swept downstream. This leads me to believe your answer for part a of 13.3 m/s is incorrect. Besides, 13.3 m/s is a very fast speed for a river.
 
Your answer for (a) is correct, for b, try using a vector approach.
 
(a) can't possibly be correct. If there were no current, the swimmer would cross the river in 100/0.15 = about 600 seconds. In the same time, a current of 13.3 meters/s would sweep the guy 8000 meters downstream.
 
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