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On 10 Jan 2005 09:24:39 -0800, wrote:

A vessel is taking on water at a rate of 100 gal/hour faster than it
can be pumped out. The captain reports his position to the coast guard
as 28 deg. 32.5 min N. 83 deg. 47.6 min. W. The coast guard sends a
vessel with a pump capable of pumping at a rate of 500 gal/hour from
Tarpon Springs at a maximum speed of 20 kts. The sinking vesseels
capt. knows that he will sink after taking on 7000 lbs. of water.
Will the vessel sink before the coast guard arrives? SHOW YOUR WORK.

Several reactions:

How fast is the sinking vessel moving and in which direction?

Won't the threat of sinking provide enough motivation to get one more
bucket per minute of bailing out of the crew?

Why is the coast guard sending such a lame little pump?

How does the captain know that he will sink after taking on 7000 lbs?
(That would be a pretty small boat -- remember that one of the Fastnet
lessons was that most skippers grossly underestimate the amount of
water their boat can take on and still stay safely afloat, even in
extreme conditions.)

and finally:

Why did you make the problem look so much like a hokey exam question
rather than a practical problem? If your son already has some problems
with motivation and authority, then dressing up a real, practical
learning opportunity in academic robes will almost certainly turn him
off.

You have a real boat right there. Make it a real example. "If that
fitting failed, then what would we do if we couldn't patch it? Could
we make it to shore from here before the boat sank?" Then work through
the process of estimating the rate of leakage, rate of progress,
reserve bouyancy, etc.

If you want to make it difficult, then account for reduced rate of
progress and increased pump flow rate as the boat fills with water.

Ryk

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