Relative Speed: Overtaking and Crossing Trains Relative speed refers to the combined speed of two objects relative to each other . It is determined by add...
Relative speed refers to the combined speed of two objects relative to each other. It is determined by adding the speeds of the two objects themselves.
Relative speed is always greater than or equal to the speed of the slower object. This means that the faster object will always be able to catch up to the slower object, regardless of the relative positions of the objects.
There are two main situations to consider when calculating relative speed:
1. Relative speed when overtaking:
When one object is overtaking another, the overtaking object is moving faster than the other object.
We need to add the speeds of the two objects to find the relative speed of the overtaking object.
For example, if object A is traveling at 20 m/s and object B is traveling at 15 m/s, the relative speed of object A would be 35 m/s.
2. Relative speed when crossing trains:
When two objects are crossing each other, the object that is closer to the front of the other object has a relative speed of 0 m/s.
The relative speed of the object that is further away is equal to the relative speed of the object that is closer to the front.
For example, if object A is traveling at 10 m/s and object B is traveling at 20 m/s, the relative speed of object A would be 10 m/s.
Remember:
Relative speed is always a greater than or equal to the speed of the slower object.
The relative speed between two objects can be either greater than or equal to the speed of the faster object or less than the speed of the faster object, depending on the relative positions of the objects