27 thumbs up

A rabit & a turtle paradox

I am not really good at math and this guy I know told me a paradox, which I would like to understand better and if possible to see how is it solved. It is about a turtle and a rabbit, they start a race and the turtle has an head start, the rabbit is faster then the turtle but if we slow time he will never reach him. I didn't get it ???????

 


  • 1060 views
Share Send to a friend Watch Report
 
 

Posted Answers

Order by
 
49 thumbs up

I hope I'll be able to answer this question well.

when dilling with paradox you need to remember that the paradox it written so to confuse you. and make you think about the problem describe in a way to confuse you.

 

first of all, you know for a fact that the rabbit will be the first to cross the end-line if it is far enough. the only question is how far is far enough.

what happen if the rabbit go 10 times as fast as the turtle and the turtle gets 10 meter head start? at the at the time the rabbit gets to the starting point of the turtle will get far by one meter. so the rabbit get another meter the turtle move 10 more cm etc. 

what happen if the race is for 20 meters? the rabit go for the first 10 meter and the rabit is 9 meter away from the end line. at the next 10 meter the rabit is crossing the line while the turtle is 8 meter from the crossing line.

the situation is the same for 19, 18, 17... meter the question is at what distance will they cross the line at the same time?  we can calculate it using it with the following expression:

infinite series

our series is the distance of the turtle has passed from the earlier period of time 

1 , 0.1 , 0.01, ...

and q is the ratio between to cases, 0.1

so the sum is 1/0.9 = 1.11111.... at that distance (from the starting point of the turtle) the rabbit and the turtle will cross the line at the same time.

 

I believe my explanation isn't that well but I hope it helped you tho. 

 


Posted 2 years ago ( permalink )
In reply to shine's question
yotama9 was invited by Yedda to answer this question.

Rated as
Best Answer
0
1

Helpful?

line
line
line



 
58 thumbs up

To stay alive you need to learn every day - you never know

The whole paradox of the rabbit and the turtle is that the turtle moves with a constant speed to the finish and at a certain time will reach it.

The rabbit every-time runs the half of the distance to go - takes a short rest and runs the next half distance - although it seems very fast in the beginning at the end the rabbit will never arrive as there is still a half distance to go.

 It is a story illustrating the difference between a linear function and a function that has a limit in infinity (the finish)

The official paradox comes from Zeno, you can read about it

http://www.redpython.co.uk/Paradoxes/zeno_achilles_paradox.htm 

 


Posted 2 years ago ( permalink )
In reply to shine's question
FlyingDutchman was invited by Yedda to answer this question.

Rated as
Best Answer
0
1

Helpful?

line
line
line



Sign in to participate

Got an answer for shine? Would you like to comment on the posted answers, or vote for the one which you think is the best?

Sign up for a free account, or sign in (if you're already a member).

Explore Related Questions

Other people asked questions on similar topics, check out the answers they received:


My speed.

How to figure mph by time and distance travelled. If I walk 2 miles in 31 minutes and 13 seconds what is my speed in mph?
Submitted by Ron 3 months ago
  • viewed 78 times

Last answer posted 3 months ago by Jura1


Air speed and ground speed

what is the difference between Aircraft's air speed and ground speed, and when does each category is used?
Submitted by slurp 2 years ago
  • viewed 1465 times

Last answer posted 2 years ago by atyachin


How many yards of sand do i need to fill in a area ...

How many yards of sand do i need to fill in a area 5200 sq ft 12 inches deep.
Submitted by ggreen9017 4 months ago
  • viewed 343 times

Last answer posted 4 months ago by OronD



» More...

Explore Related Posts in Forums

Does Math Serves Physics ?

: "Not everything that has mathematical meaning has physical meaning" , and then I ask - didn't math was created to solve physical problems ?? Maybe ignoring things that math predicts gives us partial answer

Dark Energy - Streching Math And Physics Beyond Sc

Dark Energy - Streching Math and Physics Beyond Science Fiction The NEW Physics has given us many , seen, or observed universe are said to be moving away from us at many times the speed of light.They

Math and Physics Books

Hello everyone, I'm looking for recommendations for math and physics books. I'm a high school student who just finished AP Physics B and AP Calculus AB (both first year courses). Neither
» More...
Powered by
Feed - Subscribe to changes to this Q&A Blog

Explore Related Videos

How To Change GPU Fan Speed

http://www.thehowtoguys.net --------------- This video is about how to change you graphics card fan speed. --------------- Resources --------------- GPU-Z: http://www.techpowerup.com/gpuz/ RivaTuner: http://www.techpowerup.com/downloads/721/.html

Need For Speed Undercover Police Chase

Itll take some big moves to stop him now. Check out needforspeed.com.

Hidden cam voyeurs sexy Speed Daters

Abbe Abbe tries Speed Dating and meets one weird guy.

Hydroplane Survivor's Story

Mark Workentine, the pilot in a speed boat that disintegrated at 180 miles per hour during a test run, escaped unharmed as seen in this incredible video. He talks to Harry Smith about his experience.

Wind Tunnel: Radio Control Cars

Wind Tunnel: SPEED brings you all the action from the 2008 IFMAR Off Road Championships.

BOUNMY speed painting by Dez

speed painting d'un vietnamien par un turc, meme si le turc ne l'aime pas lol jrigole ! jean paul sartre bron

Video Game Talk with the Cast of Heroes

We catch up with the cast of Heroes at the video game launch party for Need for Speed. Is there a possible Heroes video game in the works?

Speed test

Speed test video i made to sell this car on ebay.
» More...
Powered by