Moon’s orbit around Earth can be (very) approximately described by
r(t) = 〈 385000 cos( πt/14), 385000 sin(πt/14) 〉 with distances in
kilometers and times in days
r(t) = 385000 〈 cosx, sinx 〉 where x = πt/14
What is the moon’s velocity?
v(t) = dr/dt
= 385000 d/dx〈cos,sinx〉 dx/dt
= 385000 〈 -sin(πt/14), cos(πt/14) 〉 π/14
What is its speed?
Speed = | v(t) |
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Integrals of vector-valued functions and some applications