Quote:
Originally Posted by TheVillageChicken
Tell them to solve this problem to prove they are not a robot.
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I'm not sure the statement of the problem is accurate.
First of all, the alligator has to enter the water, accelerate, reach a constant velocity, decelerate to exit the water, then accelerate on land again. So the problem is not a simple algebraic formula, but a differential equation.
Also, from a simple trigonometric point of view, the direct line to the zebra has one side and one angle of the triangle, so we need to know either how wide the river is, how far to the zebra, or a second angle.
Now, my advanced math is about 40 years rusty---maybe some mathematicians out there can clarify