Assume the stream is D miles wide, the paddler paddles over water at p miles/hour, the current is a stready w miles/hour. They aim at the target point straight across on the opposite shore and stay aimed there throughout the crossing. However, the current sweeps them downstream, so they don't take a staight course across. They stay continuously aimed at the original target point, but at an increasing angle. Thus the course is an arc, not a straight line. How long does it take? How far do they paddle over water? Over ground? (Analytical answers preferred over numerical simulations.)
2006-06-15
06:05:31
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4 answers
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asked by
DavidL
2
in
Mathematics