A person is attempting to swim directly across a river. They are able to swim at a speed of 0.500 m/s relative to the water. The river is 25.0 m wide and the person ends up 50.0 m downstream from their starting point. How fast is the current in the river?

Question

A person is attempting to swim directly across a river.  They are able to swim at a speed of 0.500 m/s relative to the water.  The river is 25.0 m wide and the person ends up 50.0 m downstream from their starting point.  How fast is the current in the river?

MathMate · Answer

The person swims at 0.5m/s. If the current takes him 50m downstream in the same time it took him to swim 25m across (with or without current), what would be the speed of the current?