A river flows due south with a speed of 2.0 m/s. A man steers a motorboat across the river. The river is 800 m wide. In which direction should the motorboat head in order to reach a point on the opposite bank directly east from the starting point? (The boat's speed relative to the water is 4.2 m/s.)   To solve for this problem I did theda=arctan(-2.0+4.2)=-25.46 but since it is north of east I got theda=25 degrees, but it says that I have the wrong answer. What am I doing wrong?

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A river flows due south with a speed of 2.0 m/s. A man steers a motorboat across the river. The river is 800 m wide. In which direction should the motorboat head in order to reach a point on the opposite bank directly east from the starting point? (The boat's speed relative to the water is 4.2 m/s.)

 

To solve for this problem I did theda=arctan(-2.0+4.2)=-25.46 but since it is north of east I got theda=25 degrees, but it says that I have the wrong answer. What am I doing wrong?

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