Question

Snow is falling vertically at a constant speed of 6.6 m/s. At what angle from the vertical do the snowflakes appear to be falling as viewed by the driver of a car traveling on a straight, level road with a speed of 66 km/h?

Answer 1

6.6 m/s and 18.333 m/s (66 km/h) become the horizontal and vertical components of the velocity vector as seen by the driver. The answer is

tan^-1 6.6/18.333 = tan^-1 0.36 = 19.8 degrees

Answer 2

The above answer is wrong. You need to have tan^-1 (18.333/6.6)=70.2 degrees. (that is, tan^-1(Velocity in y direction/Velocity in x direction)