Two physics students are trying to determine the instantaneous speed of a bike at 5 meters from the start of the 1000 meter sprint. The bike covers 10 meters in 4 seconds. If acceleration was constant, what was the instantaneous speed of the bike at the 5 meter mark
I'm pretty sure the info about the 1000m sprint is irrelevant.
So, if a bike covers 10m in 4s at a constant acceleration, what was the speed of the bike at the 5m mark?
I tied uisng an equation of straight line motion but I got an answer of 5 m/s, which I know is wrong - the answer is 3.5 m/s. I just need to know how to work it out.
Thanks
Vampy.Campy, Constant acceleration does not mean no acceleration, it means that it is accelerating at a constant rate, so the velocity is not constant, but is increasing.
No acceleration = constant velocity.
Constant acceleration = velocity increasing at a constant rate. So acceleration must be taken into account... I think :S
I'm pretty sure the info about the 1000m sprint is irrelevant.
So, if a bike covers 10m in 4s at a constant acceleration, what was the speed of the bike at the 5m mark?
I tied uisng an equation of straight line motion but I got an answer of 5 m/s, which I know is wrong - the answer is 3.5 m/s. I just need to know how to work it out.
Thanks
Vampy.Campy, Constant acceleration does not mean no acceleration, it means that it is accelerating at a constant rate, so the velocity is not constant, but is increasing.
No acceleration = constant velocity.
Constant acceleration = velocity increasing at a constant rate. So acceleration must be taken into account... I think :S