Question

Eric is in a canoe and rows at a velocity 4.5 m/s due east on the river. If the current on

that river is 1.0 m/s east, draw the vector diagram for this situation.

Answer 1

In Physics, to find the resultant velocity of Eric's canoe relative to the shore, two vectors are added: Eric's velocity due east (4.5 m/s) and the river current's velocity also due east (1.0 m/s). The vector diagram illustrates this addition resulting in a total velocity of 5.5 m/s due east.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question is Physics, specifically dealing with vector addition of velocities. In the situation described, Eric is rowing a canoe due east with his own velocity of 4.5 m/s on a river that has a current moving east at 1.0 m/s. To represent this visually with a vector diagram:

1. Draw a horizontal arrow pointing to the right with a length proportional to 4.5 units to represent Eric's velocity in still water (the canoe's velocity).
2. Draw another horizontal arrow pointing to the right, starting from the head of the first arrow, with a length proportional to 1 unit to represent the river's current velocity.
3. The resultant vector, or the total velocity of the canoe relative to the shore, will be the vector starting from the tail of the first vector to the head of the second vector. In this case, it will be 5.5 m/s due east (sum of 4.5 m/s and 1.0 m/s).

This vector diagram demonstrates the superposition of Eric's velocity and the river's current, resulting in the total velocity of the canoe relative to an observer on the shore.