Question 296143: i am in law enforcement and reviewing a cold case file. i am trying to determine a possible distance of entry into the water from where the body was recovered.
answer needed is possible distance of travel
object wt. apprx 110lbs in water, water current is moving at a rate of 7 miles per hour. what would be the distance this object could travel in 24 hours?
i was not sure on how the weight would affect the speed that the object would travel.
thank you so much for your review.
Answer by Deina(147)   (Show Source):
You can put this solution on YOUR website! The weight itself shouldn't be a factor.
The academic answer would be 7 * 24 = 168 miles.
Having said that, that would be under ideal conditions.
Realistically speaking there are a vast number of variables to consider.
First, it's not likely that any stream or river is going to run at a constant 7 mph for that distance. It will slow as the stream widens and speed up as it narrows.
Is it in a coastal area where a part of the journey could be affected by tide?
Next was the body totally submerged, or was it floating in such a manner that wind and/or waves would have affected it? I think that wind and tide are the only natural forces that could make it go farther than the calculated 168 miles.
Last, and most certainly not of least importance: if the body drug along the ground, got caught in debris, rocks or an eddy, those things would all slow it's progress.
Knowing no more than I do about the conditions, if someone held a gun to my head & forced me to bet, I'd say that the body entered the water considerably closer than the 168 mile point.
I really don't know if I've helped you very much, but I hope I did.
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