Vector Application: Ship's Course
Vector analysis is used to plot course based on time and speed.
Wind and currents can take a ship far from its normal course. If the navigator does not follow the influence of wind and current, the ship could be hopelessly lost.
The following interactive video shows 10 square vectors of the ship's movement on the map without and with the addition of wind and current vectors.
STUDENT ACTIVITY
Try the next simulation and answer the questions on the worksheet.
Required pre knowledge:
- Vectors are arrows that are represented by a magnitude value (the length of the arrow) and a direction (the way the arrow is pointed).
- How to add vectors geometrically?
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The text problem and map were downloaded from Ignite STEM learning in K-12 - TeachEngineering
Information
Regarding the ship's movement, the information in the vector is the distance travelled and the direction travelled.
Vectors give us a graphical method to calculate the sum of several simultaneous movements.
If movement is without wind and current influences, a vessel arrives at the end of the course vector. If the movement is affected by wind (and current variables, represented by the sum of wind and current vectors), then a vessel's final position can be found by linking the two (three) vectors.