Question

The altitude of a hang glider is increasing at a rate of 6.55 m/s. At the same time, the shadow of the glider moves along the ground at a speed of 15.5 m/s when the sun is directly overhead. Find the magnitude of the glider's velocity.

Answer 1

v = 16.82 m/s

Step-by-step explanation:

It is given that,

The altitude of a hang glider is increasing at a rate of 6.55 m/s,
`v_1=6.55\ m/s`

The shadow of the glider moves along the ground at a speed of 15.5 m/s,
`v_2=15.5\ m/s`

Here, the horizontal velocity is v₁ and the vertical velocity is v₂. Let v is the magnitude of glider's velocity. It can be calculated as :

`v=√(v_1^2+v_2^2)`

`v=√(6.55^2+15.5^2)`

v = 16.82 m/s

So, the magnitude of the glider's velocity is 16.82 m/s. Hence, this is the required solution.