Question

A giant armadilo moving northward with a constant acceleration covers the distance between two points 60m apart in 6 seconds. Its velocity as it passes the second point is 15m/s
what is the acceleration? (answer is 1.7) please explain how to solve this problem in detail.

Answer 1

Acceleration is the rate of change of the velocity of an object that is moving. This value is a result of all the forces that is acting on an object which is described by Newton's second law of motion. To determine acceleration, we need to know the initial velocity and the final velocity and the time elapsed. From the given values, we need t o calculate for the initial velocity. We use some kinematic equations. We do as follows:

 x = v0t + at^2/2
60 = v0(6) + a(6)^2/2
60 = 6v0 + 18a          (EQUATION 1)

vf = v0 + at
15 = v0 + a(6)
15 = v0 + 6a             (EQUATION 2)

Solving for v0 and a,
v0 = 5 m/s
a = 1.7 m/s^2