How to Calculate Relative Velocity of a Sailor Running on a Moving Battleship

What is the concept of relative velocity?

The concept of relative velocity is...

What are the velocities involved in this scenario?

In this scenario, the sailor runs with a velocity of 4 m/s...

Concept of Relative Velocity:

Relative velocity is the difference between the velocities of two objects in motion...

Velocities Involved in this Scenario:

In this scenario, the sailor runs with a velocity of 4 m/s...

In physics, relative velocity is a concept that describes the velocity of an object with respect to a different reference point or frame of reference. It is the velocity of one object as observed from another moving object or observer. Relative velocity helps us understand how fast an object appears to be moving from a different perspective.

Calculation:

Given data:

Sailor's velocity = 4 m/s (from back to front of the battleship)

Battleship's velocity = 8 m/s (forward)

To calculate the relative velocity of the sailor when viewed by an observer on a nearby stationary ship, we subtract the battleship's velocity from the sailor's velocity:

Relative velocity = Sailor's velocity - Battleship's velocity

Relative velocity = 4 m/s - 8 m/s

Relative velocity = -4 m/s

Therefore, the sailor appears to be moving at a speed of 4 m/s in the opposite direction to the battleship's motion when viewed by an observer on a nearby stationary ship.