Question

You are standing on the ground at the origin of a coordinate system. An airplane flies over you with constant velocity parallel to the x axis and at a constant height of 8.15 10**3 m. At t = 0, the airplane is directly above you so that the vector leading from you to it is P0 = 8.15 10**3ĵ m. At t = 30.0 s the position vector leading from you to the airplane is P30 = (6.92 10**3î + 8.15 103ĵ) m as suggested in the figure below. Determine the magnitude and orientation of the airplane's position vector at t = 55.0 s.

Answer 1

To determine the magnitude and orientation of the airplane's position vector at t = 55.0 s, we can subtract the initial position vector from the final position vector.

P55 - PO = (6.92*10^3î + 8.15*10^3j) - 8.15*10^3j

Simplifying this expression, we get:

P55 = (6.92*10^3î)

The magnitude of the airplane's position vector at t = 55.0 s is 6.92*10^3 meters, and its orientation is along the x-axis.