Question

question 2 of 10
a man stands still on a moving escalator and a woman walks past him in the same direction as the escalator. to a stationary observer, the man has a speed of 0.2 m/s and the woman has a speed of 0.5 m/s. from the frame of reference of the man on the escalator, how fast is the woman walking?
a. 0.2 m/s
b. 0.5 m/s
c. 0.3 m/s
d. 0.7 m/s

Explanation:

Step1: Identify relative - velocity concept

The relative velocity of the woman with respect to the man is given by the difference in their velocities with respect to the stationary observer.
Let \(v_m\) be the velocity of the man and \(v_w\) be the velocity of the woman with respect to the stationary observer.
The relative velocity \(v_{w - m}=v_w - v_m\)

Step2: Substitute the given values

We know that \(v_m = 0.2\ m/s\) and \(v_w=0.5\ m/s\)
\(v_{w - m}=0.5 - 0.2\)
\(v_{w - m}=0.3\ m/s\)

Answer:

C. \(0.3\ m/s\)