Relative velocity
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Intros
Examples
Lessons
- Relative velocity in one dimension
A car travelling at 75.0 km/h overtakes a 1.20 km long train travelling in the same direction on a track parallel to the road. The train moves at 60.0 km/h.
- How long does it take the car to pass and how far will it have travelled in this time?
- Find the time to pass and distance the car travels if the car and train move in opposite directions.
- Relative velocity in two dimensions
A pilot must fly her plane due west to an airport. The plane has a speed of 445 km/h relative to the air. There is a steady wind blowing 82.5 km/h toward the south.
- Draw a vector diagram.
- What is the heading of the plane relative to the ground that the pilot should fly? Why is it not due [W]?
- What is the speed of the plane relative to the ground?
- If the airport is 312 km west, how much time does she need to arrive there?
- Draw a vector diagram.
A boat heads across a 593 m wide river with a velocity of 3.50 m/s toward the east. The river current is flowing south. The boat lands 346 m downstream on the other side of the river.
- Draw a vector diagram for the boat's resultant velocity
- What is the speed of the river current?
- What is the velocity of the boat relative to the shore?
- What is the change in velocity of a ball that had an initial velocity of 16.5 m/s [S] and a final velocity of 20.8 m/s [E] after it is hit with a bat? Draw a vector diagram.