Swimming in a River: Calculating Your Actual Direction

If you are swimming at 1m/s north and the river is flowing at 0.3m/s east, then you are moving in a direction that is a combination of north and east. This can be calculated using vector addition.

The velocity due to swimming north is 1m/s in the north direction. The velocity due to the river flow is 0.3m/s in the east direction.

Using vector addition, you can find the resultant velocity: Resultant velocity = √((velocity due to swimming north)^2 + (velocity due to river flow)^2)

Resultant velocity = √((1m/s)^2 + (0.3m/s)^2)

Resultant velocity = √(1m^2/s^2 + 0.09m^2/s^2)

Resultant velocity = √(1.09m^2/s^2)

Resultant velocity ≈ 1.044m/s

Therefore, you are moving in a direction approximately 1.044m/s at an angle between north and east, with a greater component in the north direction.