Problema Solution
Laura can row a boat 0.5 mile per hour in still water. She attempts to row straight across a river that has a current of 1 mile per hour. If she must row for 2 hours to cross the river, by what angle is the current pushing her off her intended path? Give your answer to the nearest degree.
Answer provided by our tutors
we have a vector of 0.5 magnitude perpendicular to the river and a vector of 1. magnitude parallel to the river
we solve for the angle made by these two vectors, whose sides form two legs of a right triangle
let 'a' represent the angle, then:
tan(a) = 1/0.5 = 2.
a = atan(2.) = 63.4349
the river is pushing her off her intended path by an angle of approximately 63 degrees