Are you sure the captain is a novice? Despite the fact that he will land downstream from his starting point, his fastest path across the water is to head straight across.
Anyway I will pretend I am not a navigator and do what your book wants you to do.
For example:
He could be going East at 15.7 and South at 5.35
His resultant speed will be:
v = sqrt (15.7^2 + 5.35^2)
tan(angle ) = 5.35/15.7
where angle is the measure south of east
A novice captain is pointing his ferryboat directly across the river at a speed of 15.7 mi/h. If he does not pay attention to the current that is headed downriver at 5.35 mi/h, what will be his resultant speed and direction? (Consider that the current and the boat’s initial heading are perpendicular to each other.)
1 answer