Final answer:
The bird's angular momentum about the point where you are standing can be calculated by the formula L = r * p * sin(θ), with the altitude as r and the product of mass and horizontal velocity as p. Since the bird flies horizontally, the angle θ is 90 degrees, making sin(θ) equal to 1. Thus, the bird's angular momentum is 1200.0 kg·m^2/s corresponding to choice d).
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question pertains to the concept of angular momentum, a topic in physics. Angular momentum is given by the cross product of the radius vector to the bird (r) and the linear momentum vector of the bird (p). The bird's altitude above the ground (300.0 m) functions as the perpendicular distance from the point where you stand to the bird's line of motion, which is vital for calculating angular momentum. The bird's linear momentum p can be calculated as the product of mass (m) and velocity (v), given as p = m * v. Given that the mass of the bird is 2.0 kg and the horizontal speed is 20.0 m/s, the linear momentum is p = (2.0 kg) * (20.0 m/s) = 40.0 kg·m/s. Angular momentum L about the point where the student stands is calculated by the formula L = r * p * sin(θ), where θ is the angle between r and p. Since the bird flies horizontally and the altitude is perpendicular to that horizontal flight path, θ is 90 degrees and sin(θ) = 1. The result is L = (300.0 m) * (40.0 kg·m/s) * 1, yielding L = 12000.0 kg·m^2/s. This implies the correct answer is d) 1200.0 kg·m^2/s.