An athlete swims from the north end to the south end of a 5.0 m pool in 20.0 s and makes the return trip to the starting position in 22.0 s.
To find the average speed of the athlete, we can use the formula:
average speed = total distance / total time
In this case, the total distance is twice the length of the pool because the athlete swims to the south end and back to the north end. So the total distance is 2 * 5.0 m = 10.0 m.
The total time is the sum of the time taken to swim from north to south and the time taken to swim from south to north. So the total time is 20.0 s + 22.0 s = 42.0 s.
Now we can substitute these values into the formula to find the average speed:
average speed = 10.0 m / 42.0 s
Using a calculator, we find:
average speed ≈ 0.238 m/s
Therefore, the athlete's average speed is approximately 0.238 m/s.
To solve the problem, we need to find the average speed of the athlete for both the north-south and south-north trips.
Step 1: Calculate the speed for the north-south trip.
The distance covered by the athlete is the length of the pool, which is 5.0 m.
The time taken is 20.0 s.
Speed = Distance / Time
Speed = 5.0 m / 20.0 s
Speed = 0.25 m/s
Step 2: Calculate the speed for the south-north trip.
The distance covered is still 5.0 m.
The time taken is 22.0 s.
Speed = Distance / Time
Speed = 5.0 m / 22.0 s
Speed = 0.227 m/s
So, the average speed for the north-south trip is 0.25 m/s and the average speed for the south-north trip is 0.227 m/s.
To find the speed of the athlete, we can divide the total distance traveled by the total time taken.
First, let's calculate the distance traveled by the athlete in one direction. Since the athlete swims from the north end to the south end of a 5.0 m pool, the distance covered is the length of the pool, which is 5.0 meters.
Next, we calculate the total distance covered in both directions. Since the athlete goes from the north end to the south end and then back to the starting position, the total distance covered is equal to twice the distance covered in one direction, which is 2 × 5.0 m = 10.0 m.
Now, we calculate the total time taken for the round trip. The athlete takes 20.0 s to swim from the north end to the south end and 22.0 s to swim from the south end back to the starting position. Therefore, the total time taken for the round trip is 20.0 s + 22.0 s = 42.0 s.
Finally, we can find the speed of the athlete by dividing the total distance covered by the total time taken:
Speed = Total distance / Total time
Speed = 10.0 m / 42.0 s ≈ 0.238 m/s
So, the speed of the athlete is approximately 0.238 m/s.