Final answer:
The question is about determining whether '120 knots' refers to indicated airspeed or ground speed. In aviation, indicated airspeed is shown on the airspeed indicator, while ground speed is the airplane's true speed over the ground, accounting for wind effects. True airspeed and calibrated airspeed are other related concepts.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question posed pertains to a student asking whether "120 knots" refers to indicated airspeed or ground speed. In aviation, indicated airspeed (IAS) is the speed shown on the aircraft's pitot-static airspeed indicator, calibrated to reflect standard atmosphere adiabatic compressible flow at sea level, uncorrected for air density variations, instrumentation errors, and position errors. Ground speed is the actual speed of the airplane over the ground, which includes the effect of wind. True airspeed (TAS) is the speed of the aircraft relative to the airmass in which it is flying. Calibrated airspeed (CAS) is indicated airspeed corrected for instrument errors and position error.
Regarding the provided reference information, the scenarios given are examples from physics problems addressing concerns like how the motion of an airplane can be affected by wind, angular and linear velocities, and how velocity relative to the ground may differ from airspeed due to environmental factors.