A slowly moving train with 15.0- m-long flatcars is passing a station at 11.0 km/h. A person on the station platform tosses rocks onto the moving flatcars at the rate of one every second. If the first rock just hits the front edge of one car, how many rocks will fall onto that car?
To find out how many rocks will fall onto the first car, we need to calculate the time it takes for the first rock to reach the front edge of the next car.
First, let's convert the speed of the train from km/h to m/s:
Speed of the train = 11.0 km/h = (11.0 * 1000) m/ (3600) s = 3.06 m/s
Since the length of each flatcar is given as 15.0 m and the rocks are being thrown at a rate of one every second, we can calculate the time it takes for the first rock to reach the front edge of the next car using the formula:
Time = Distance / Speed
Time = 15.0 m / 3.06 m/s = approximately 4.90 seconds
Since the rocks are being thrown at a rate of one every second, and the time it takes for the first rock to reach the front edge of the next car is 4.90 seconds, we can conclude that 4 rocks will fall onto the first car.
Therefore, 4 rocks will fall onto the first car.