Question

If a boat is producing a bow wave as it moves over the water, what must be true about its speed?

The boat is traveling slower than the waves it is producing.
The boat is traveling with the same speed as the waves it is producing.
The boat is traveling faster than the waves it is producing.

Answer 1

A Bow wave is produced when a speed boat moves faster than the waves it produces.

Explanation: A Bow wave is a progressive disturbance that propagates through a fluid, such as water or air, as a result of a displacement of the anterior point of an object passing through the fluid that is greater than the speed of the wave travelling across the fluid, produced by the same object. If the speed of the object is slower than the waves it produces, then no Bow waves will be generated. In the above scenario, when the speed boat moves faster than the waves it generates, it produces the Bow wave in the water.