Motion in a Plane
Class 11 · Motion in a Plane

Rain–Man Problem

Walker in vertical rain — compute umbrella tilt angle.

Key Notes

01

Rain falls vertically with speed v_r. Man walks with speed v_m horizontally.

02

Rain relative to man: v_rain/man = v_rain − v_man.

03

Umbrella tilt angle (from vertical) = tan⁻¹(v_m/v_r).

04

Speed of rain relative to man: √(v_r² + v_m²).

Formulas

Umbrella angle

Angle from vertical, toward the direction of motion.

Important Points

The faster you walk, the more you tilt the umbrella — up to nearly horizontal.

Rain–Man Problem notes from sciphylab (also known as SciPhy, SciPhy Lab, SciPhy Labs, Physics Lab). Class 11 physics revision for JEE Mains, JEE Advanced, NEET UG, AP Physics 1/2/C, SAT, and CUET-UG.