Question

A farmer is walking through a field at a velocity of +0.5 meters per second (m/s) relative to the ground. At the same time, he is throwing seeds in front of him at a velocity of +2.1 m/s relative to himself. What is the velocity of the seeds relative to the ground as they travel through the air?

Answer 1

Answer:

The velocity of the seeds relative to the ground as they travel through the air is 2.6 meters per second.

Explanation:

From Physics, we know that the absolute velocity of the seeds ($v_{S}$) is the sum of the absolute velocity of the farmer ($v_{F}$) and the velocity of the seeds relative to the farmer ($v_{S/F}$), all measured in meters per second. That is:

$v_{S} = v_{F}+v_{S/F}$ (1)

If we know that $v_{F} = 0.5\,\frac{m}{s}$ and $v_{S/F} = 2.1\,\frac{m}{s}$, then the velocity of the seeds relative to the ground is:

$v_{S} =0.5\,\frac{m}{s} + 2.1\,\frac{m}{s}$

$v_{S} = 2.6\,\frac{m}{s}$

The velocity of the seeds relative to the ground as they travel through the air is 2.6 meters per second.