Question

A passenger rushing to catch a plane at the airport walks on a moving sidewalk at a speed of 3.0 km/h relative to the sidewalk in the direction that the sidewalk is moving. The sidewalk is 115 m long and moves with a steady velocity of 1.3 km/h. How long (in s) does it take for the passenger to get from one end of the sidewalk to the other, that i

Answer 1

speed relative to stationary observer = speed of walkway + speed relative to walkway = 3 + 1.3 = 4.3 km/hr = 1.194 m/s

time to cover 115 m = 115/1.194 = 96.315 seconds

speed of person = 3 km/hr = 0.8333 m/s

How much time does the passenger save by taking the moving sidewalk instead of just walking beside it = 115/0.833 = 138.05 seconds.

In a time of 96.315 seconds, the passenger walks relative to the moving sidewalk = 96.315 * 0.8333 = 80.259 m

steps are taken in going from one end = distance passenger walks relative to the moving sidewalk/0.85 = 80.259/0.85 = 94.42 = 95 steps