Question

Traveler A starts from rest at a constant acceleration of 6 m/s^2. Two seconds later, traveler B starts with an initial velocity of 20 m/s at the same acceleration of 6 m/s^2. as measured by a, at what time will traveler B overtake traveler A?
a. 0.4s
b. 1.5s
c. 2.0s
d. 2.5s
e. 3.5s

Answer 1

Answer:

3. 3.5 s

Explanation:

The position of traveller A is given by the equation:

$x_A(t) = \frac{1}{2}a t^2$

where

$a = 6 m/s^2$ is the acceleration of A

t is the time measured from when A started the motion

The position of traveller B instead is given by

$x_B(t) = u_B (t-2) + \frac{1}{2}a(t-2)^2$

where a (acceleration) is the same as traveller A, and

$u_B = 20 m/s$

is B's initial velocity. We can verify that the formula is correct by substituting t=2, and we get $x_B=0$, which means that B starts its motion 2 seconds later.

Traveller B overtakes traveller A when the two positions are the same, so:

$x_A = x_B\\\frac{1}{2}at^2 = u_B (t-2) + \frac{1}{2}a(t-2)^2\\\frac{1}{2}at^2 = u_B t - 2u_B +\frac{1}{2}at^2 +2a-2at\\u_Bt-2at = 2u_B-2a\\t=\frac{2u_B-2a}{u_B-2a}=\frac{2(20)-2(6)}{20-2(6)}=3.5 s$