A motorcycle travels due east along a straight road
PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Motion in a Plane · Motion in a Plane
Problem
A motorcycle travels due east along a straight road. A ground-based traffic camera measures the motorcycle’s velocity to be 22m⋅s−1 east. At that instant, a passenger riding in a car that is also moving due east observes the motorcycle’s velocity to be 12m⋅s−1 east.
Treat each vehicle as moving at constant speed along the same line.
(a) Determine the speed and direction of the car relative to the ground. Show all work leading to your answer and include units.
(b) Explain physically why the two observers obtain different velocity values for the same motorcycle.
(c) If the car’s driver increases the car’s speed by 5m⋅s−1 while the motorcycle maintains its original speed, calculate the new velocity of the motorcycle as observed from inside the car.