Question

A sailboat moves north for a distance of 10.00 km when blown by a wind from the exact southeast with a force of . The sailboat travels the distance in 1.0 h. How much work was done by the wind? What was the wind’s power? Your response should include all of your work and a free-body diagram.

Answer 1

Given that the direction sailboat is north and the distance traveled is d = 10 km

The direction of the wind is southeast and the force is

$F\text{ =2}\times10^4\text{ N}$

The sailboat travels the distance in time, t = 1 h

We have to find the work done by the wind and wind's power.

The diagram is shown below

The work done by the wind will be

$\begin{gathered} W\text{ =Fdcos}\theta \\ =2\times10^4\times10\times10^3\times\cos (135^{\circ}) \\ =-1.414\times10^8\text{ J} \end{gathered}$

The power of the wind will be

$\begin{gathered} P=\frac{W}{t} \\ =\frac{-1.414\times10^8}{1\times60\times60} \\ =-3.93\times10^4\text{ W} \end{gathered}$