179k views
5 votes
A ship is going 40 mph with a heading of 30 degrees. The ocean currents are flowing at 10 mph toward 90 degrees. What is the resultant speed of the ship, and what direction is it actually heading?

a) Resultant speed is 42 mph, heading north
b) Resultant speed is 40 mph, heading east
c) Resultant speed is 38 mph, heading south
d) Resultant speed is 42 mph, heading west

User Mohitum
by
7.0k points

1 Answer

7 votes

Final answer:

The question asks to calculate the resultant speed and heading direction of a ship that is being affected by an ocean current using vector addition. None of the options provided in the question directly represents the correct answer to the problem as the calculation requires breaking down the components of both vectors (ship's speed and ocean current's speed) and finding the magnitude and direction of the resultant vector.

Step-by-step explanation:

The subject of this question involves vector addition, which falls under physics and mathematics. The question describes a situation where a ship is traveling at a certain speed and heading, and it encounters an ocean current with its own speed and direction. To find the resultant speed and direction of the ship, vector addition must be used.

To calculate the resultant vector, the two given vectors, namely the ship's velocity and the ocean current's velocity, need to be added using vector components. This involves breaking them down into their x and y coordinates and then summing these coordinates to find the resultant vector.

For the given options, none directly represents the correct answer to the problem as outlined. The correct solution would involve breaking down the ship's speed and the current's speed into their components, combining these, and calculating the magnitude and angle of the resultant vector.

User NickP
by
7.1k points