- #1
Michele Nunes
- 42
- 2
Homework Statement
A rotating beacon is located 1 kilometer off a straight shoreline (see figure). If the beacon rotates at a rate of 3 revolutions per minute, how fast (in kilometers per hour) does the beam of light appear to be moving to a viewer who is 1/2 kilometer down the shoreline?
Homework Equations
The Attempt at a Solution
Okay so I used the equation w = 2πf where w is the angular velocity and f is the frequency of rotation. I implicitly differentiated with respect to time, then plugged in 3 rev/min for df/dt, then converted to km/hr, and got 360π km/hr. The answer is 450π km/hr. I think my units are off somewhere or I'm using the wrong equation but I'm not sure.