Asked by Marilyn

A boat is pulled into a wharf by a rope at a speed of 20m/min. If the rope is attached to a point on the boat 7m vertically below the wharf, at what rate is the rope being drawn in when the boat is 24m from the wharf?

Answers

Answered by Steve
When the boat is x meters from the wharf, the length r of rope is

r^2 = 7^2 + x^2
r dr/dt = x dx/dt
Now plug in your numbers and solve for dr/dt

I find this a bit odd, since I'd think that dr/dt would be constant. Instead, somehow the boat's speed is being kept constant.

Oh, well.

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