is this true or false-when a bird, flying at a velocity of 10m.s-1 east, encounters a wind blowing at 8m.s-1 west, its velocity relative to an observer on the ground is 18m.s-1west ? PLEASE XPLAIN IT 2ME
NO. The bird is flying into a head wind (in the opposite drection) so that its speed with respect to the ground is reduced to 10 - 8 = 2 m/s (east)
Thanx drwls
To determine whether the given statement is true or false, we need to understand how velocities add up in physics.
When an object, in this case, a bird, is moving in one direction and encounters a wind blowing in the opposite direction, the wind's velocity can either add to or subtract from the bird's velocity, depending on their respective directions.
In this scenario, we have the bird flying east at a velocity of 10 m/s and the wind blowing west at a velocity of 8 m/s. To find the bird's velocity relative to an observer on the ground, we need to subtract the wind's velocity from the bird's velocity.
Since the bird is moving east (+10 m/s) and the wind is blowing west (-8 m/s), we subtract the magnitudes of the velocities:
10 m/s - 8 m/s = 2 m/s.
The result is a velocity of 2 m/s to the east, not west. Therefore, the given statement is false. The bird's velocity relative to an observer on the ground is 2 m/s east, not 18 m/s west.
In summary, when encountering a wind, velocities need to be added or subtracted based on their directions to determine the resultant velocity.