Snow is falling vertically at a constant speed of 8.0 m/s. At what angle from the vertical do the snowflakes appear to be falling as viewed by the driver of a car traveling on a straight, level road with a speed of 50 km/h?
2007-04-09 14:17:01 · 2 answers · asked by H.A. 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
vertical velocity: 8 m/s
relative h velocity: 60 km/h
Convert the horizontal velocity to m/s (1000m / km) and (1 hour / 3600s)
Then use trig:
theta = arctan (horizontal / vertical)
The above equation may appear wrong to you (and to Edward). That's because they asked for the angle from the vertical, which is not the way we usually express such angles. C'est la vie.
2007-04-09 14:21:50 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
V(horizontal) = 50,000/3600=13.9 m/sec
A=arcTan(V(vertical) / V(horizontal))= arcTan(8/13.9)=30 degrees
2007-04-09 21:24:30 · answer #2 · answered by Edward 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋