Question

Toy car W travels across a horizontal surface with an acceleration of aw after starting from rest. Toy car Z travels across the same surface toward car W with an acceleration of az after starting from rest. Car W is separated from car Z by a distance d. Which of the following pairs of equations could be used to determine the location on the horizontal surface where the two cars will meet, and why?

Answer 1

Answer:

x = ½ aw t²

x = d − ½ az t²

Explanation:

The position of each car at time t is:

x = x₀ + v₀ t + ½ at²

For car W:

x = 0 + (0) t + ½ aw t²

x = ½ aw t²

For car Z:

x = d + (0) t + ½ (-az) t²

x = d − ½ az t²

Solving the system of equations for x will give us the location the cars meet (relative to car W's starting point).