A crew member is walking on a tugboat that is pulling a barge. The tugboat is moving at a constant speed upstream in a river that has a constant downstream current.
2. In the situation above, a dockhand measures the magnitude and direction of the velocity of the tugboat’s crew member as +vc relative to the dockhand. In terms of vc, what is the magnitude and direction of the velocity of the dockhand relative to the crew member?

Thanks!

Question

A crew member is walking on a tugboat that is pulling a barge. The tugboat is moving at a constant speed upstream in a river that has a constant downstream current.
2. In the situation above, a dockhand measures the magnitude and direction of the velocity of the tugboat’s crew member as +vc relative to the dockhand. In terms of vc, what is the magnitude and direction of the velocity of the dockhand relative to the crew member?

Thanks!

anonymous · Answer

It would be the exact opposite, -vc.

This is because while in motion, the perspective of the person in motion is not noticed. If you stand on a moving platform, you do not feel like you are moving, rather it appears everything around you is moving in the direction opposite to you.