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A Subway train is pulling into a station at 3m/s. One person is sitting still on the train.Another person on the train is walking the same direction the train is moving at 2m/s. There is a

third observer standing stationary on the platform next to the tracks. How far does the person
walking in the train appear to move relative to the person standing on the platform?

1 Answer

4 votes

Final answer:

The person walking on the train appears to move at 5m/s relative to the stationary observer on the platform, due to the addition of the train's speed (3m/s) and the person's walking speed (2m/s).

Step-by-step explanation:

The person walking on the train is moving relative to the stationary observer on the platform. Since the train is moving at 3m/s and the person is walking in the same direction at 2m/s, their speeds add up due to the principle of relative velocities. Therefore, the walking person's speed with respect to the platform observer is 3m/s + 2m/s = 5m/s. This is an example of a classic physics problem where observers in different reference frames perceive motion differently.

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