Question
A Chinook (King) salmon (Genus Oncorynchus) can jump out of water with a speed of 6.75 m/s. If the salmon is in a stream with water speed equal to 1.65 m/s, how high in the air can the fish jump if it leaves the water traveling vertically upwards relative to the Earth?
Answers
drwls
The velocity of the salmon leaving the water in earth coordinates is the vector sum of 6.75 m/s (relative to water) and 1.65 m/s (relative to earth). The 6.75 m/s is a hypotenuse of a right triangle for which the upward velocity leg is
sqrt[(6.75)^2 - (1.65)^2] = 6.55 m/s
Set (1/2)M V^2 = M g H, with V = 6.55 m's, and solve for H.
The M's cancel.
sqrt[(6.75)^2 - (1.65)^2] = 6.55 m/s
Set (1/2)M V^2 = M g H, with V = 6.55 m's, and solve for H.
The M's cancel.