183_projects:problem1_spring2021 [Projects & Practices in Physics]

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==== Project 1: Learning goals ====
  * Perform the following mathematical operations on (physical) vector quantities: vector addition/subtraction, magnitude/unit vector.
  * Sketch vector quantities and perform graphical (physical) vector addition/subtraction.
  * Predict the motion of a single-particle system executing constant velocity or constant acceleration motion using appropriate representations (this includes verbal, graphical, diagrammatic, mathematical, and computational representations).
</WRAP>

<WRAP info>
==== Project 1: Learning issues ====
  * Breaking vectors into their components 
  * Vector addition
  * Relative velocity
  * Position update formula - iterative motion
  * Familiarizing yourself with VPython
</WRAP>


====== Project 1: Part A: Riverboat Crossing======

You are a group of scientists and engineers who are studying the Miskatonic River. You need to get across the river to take more measurements but your boat sprung a leak and sank. At the edge of the river which you have found to have a constant flow rate you come across a child and their parent playing with a remote control boat. There is also an old motorboat that you could use but its rudder is stuck in place and the motorboat is positioned so that it is facing directly perpendicular to the river flow. The old motorboat indicates that it has a top speed of 7m/s. On the other side of the river, there are a lot of sharp rocks and the river is very strong so you need to know where you are going to make landfall on the other side before you start the boat’s engine. In your possession, you have a laser distance measure and a stopwatch. You use the laser distance measure to find that the river is 20 meters wide but there must have been very little battery power left as the measure stops working after measuring the width of the river. You also notice that on your side of the river there are two docks. One that has the motorboat and the other that is down the river that has nothing docked on it. If you turn on the boat when it is positioned directly perpendicular to the river flow calculate where you will end up on the other side of the river.