You are on a train that is traveling at 3.0 m/s along a level straight track. Ve

Question

You are on a train that is traveling at 3.0 m/s along a level straight track. Very near and parallel to the track is a wall that slopes upward at a 12? angle with the horizontal. As you face the window (0.748 m high, 2.18 m wide) in your compartment, the train is moving to the left, as the drawing indicates. The top edge of the wall first appears at window corner A and eventually disappears at window corner B. How much time passes between appearance and disappearance of the upper edge of the wall?

Explanation / Answer

The distance d is equal to the length of the window plus the base of the 12° right triangle of height 0.748 m. The base of the triangle is given by b = 0.748/tan12°= 3.519 m Thus, d = 2.18 m + 3.519 m = 5.7 m. The time required for the train to travel 5.7 m is, from the definition of average speed, t=x/v = 5.7/ 3.0 m/s = 1.89 s

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