Q.
A river is flowing from west to east with a speed of 5m/min. A man can swim in still water with a velocity 10m/min. In which direction should the man swim so, as to take the shortest possible path to go to the south ?
Let the swimmer swims at an angle θ with the vertical. ∴sinθ=vsvr=105=21=sin30∘ θ=30∘
The swimmer should swim 30∘ east of south to take the shortest possible path to go to the south.