A river is 2000 ft wide and flowing at 6 mph from north to south. A woman in a canoe starts on the eastern shore and heads west at her normal paddling speed of 2 mph. In what direction (measured clockwise from north) must she aim her canoe? How long will it take her to go directly across the river? Justify and explain your reasoning.

1 answer

To answer the 2nd part, there's no way she can travel directly across the river. The current is faster than she can paddle, so even if she heads directly upstream, she will be carried south.

So, you ask "In what direction must she aim her canoe?" To do what? She can row due west, and end up 6000 ft downstream, or she can pick any other NW-ish heading and end up a little closer to directly across, but she will still be carried downstream.