When the Sun is directly overhead, a hawk dives towards the ground with a constant velocity of 5.1 m/s at 45° below the horizontal. Calculate the speed of its shadow on the level ground.
m/s
1 answer
The sun is far enough away that you can assume it remains directly overhead. Luckily also a flat rather than curved earth is assumed. Therefore the shadow (which remains directly under the bird) moves at the horizontal component of the velocity of the bird. 5.1 cos 45 = 5.1* (1/2) sqrt 2