Question

Relative velocity A plane flies south rapidly km / h 175 for air. There are winds blowing in the east direction At speed km /h 85 relative to Earth. How fast is the plane? And its orientation relative to the Earth?​

Answer 1

The speed and direction of the airplane relative to the Earth are found using vector addition of the plane's velocity and the wind's velocity, applying the Pythagorean theorem due to the perpendicular directions of the airplane's and wind's movements.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asking about the concept of relative velocity in physics, where the velocity of an object is measured in relation to another moving frame of reference. Specifically, the question deals with an airplane flying south at a speed of 175 km/h through the air, while there is a wind blowing from the west towards the east at a speed of 85 km/h.

To calculate the airplane's velocity relative to the Earth, we apply vector addition. The velocity of the plane relative to the air is combined with the velocity of the wind. Since the wind is blowing from the west to the east, and the plane's direction is south, these two vectors are perpendicular to each other.

By constructing a right-angled triangle, with one side representing the velocity of the airplane (175 km/h south) and the other side representing the velocity of the wind (85 km/h east), we can use the Pythagorean theorem to find the resultant velocity. This calculated velocity represents the airplane's speed and direction relative to the Earth.