A hot-air balloon is rising vertically 5m/s while the wind is blowing horizontally at 3m/s. Find the speed v of the balloon and the angle θ it makes with the horizontal. 5m/s Balloon 3m/s Wind
Q. A hot-air balloon is rising vertically 5m/s while the wind is blowing horizontally at 3m/s. Find the speed v of the balloon and the angle θ it makes with the horizontal. 5m/s Balloon 3m/s Wind
Identify components: Identify the components of the balloon's velocity.The balloon is rising vertically at 5m/s and the wind is blowing horizontally at 3m/s.
Use Pythagorean theorem: Use the Pythagorean theorem to find the resultant speed v of the balloon.The vertical and horizontal components of the velocity are perpendicular to each other, so we can treat them as the legs of a right triangle, with the balloon's speed v as the hypotenuse.v2=(vertical speed)2+(horizontal speed)2v2=52+32v2=25+9v2=34v=34v≈5.83 m/s
Calculate resultant speed: Calculate the angle θ the balloon's path makes with the horizontal.We can use the tangent function, which is the ratio of the opposite side (vertical speed) to the adjacent side (horizontal speed) in a right triangle.tan(θ)=horizontal speedvertical speedtan(θ)=35To find θ, we take the arctan (inverse tangent) of 35.θ=arctan(35)θ≈59.04 degrees
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