Question

Determine what type of model best fits the given situation:

Answer 1

Answer:

Ok, i will suppose the situation that:

The rocket has a constant speed S (So the acceleration of the rocket is equal in magnitude, but opposite in direction, to the gravitational acceleration)

Here we can remember that:

Velocity = distance/time.

Then if the distance is the height of the rocket, we can write this as:

H = velocity*time

h = S*t

This is a linear model that represents the height of the rocket as a function of time.

Case 2:

The rocket is fired with an initial velocity v0, but no acceleration:

In this case the only acceleration acting on the rocket is the gravitatonal acceleration pulling the rocket down, so the acceleration is:

a = -g

To get the velocity as a function of time, we should integrate:

a = -g*t + v0

To get the height as a function of time, we integrate again:

h(t) = (-g/2)*t^2 + v0*t + p0

Where p0 is the initial position of te rocket, but the rocket starts at the ground, so p0 = 0m.

The height as a function of time is:

h(t) = (-g/2)*t^2 + v0*t

This is a quadratic equation.