The root of 떴다 is 뜨다, which is intransitive verb and originally means to float physically on the suface of fluid or to maintain (itself) in the middle of liquid or gaseous material(s) without sinking.
For example:
1. 일반적으로 금속은 물에 뜨지 않는다 : In general, metalic materials don't float on water.
In 어머니 떴다. 뜨다 is used to describe a situation that someone/something appears abrruptly without giving prior notification. However, it means implicitly that the speaker has been waiting for the emergence of someone/something to give a warning to others who are in the same place and who belong to the same group of the speaker. In some case where the speaker is alone, he(she) might be warning to himself(herself). However this usage of 뜨다 is quite informal and inappropriate for writing.
The other typical usage of 뜨다 is to describe someone/something that gets popularity.
For example:
이 (남자) 배우는 최근에 뜨고 있다 : This actor is getting popularity recently.
However this usage is also quite informal, so only used in spoken Korean among close people or TV shows.