Question

An automobile is driven on a straight road, and the distance traveled by the automobile after time t=0 is given by a quadratic function a where a(t) is measured in feet and t is measured in seconds for 0 <= t <= 12. Of the following, which gives the best estimate of the velocity of the automobile, in feet per second, at time t = 8 seconds?
a. s(8)
b. s(8)/8
c. s(12)- s(2)/ 12-2
d. s(9)- s(7)/9-7

Answer 1

Answer:

$Velocity = \frac{s(8)}{8}$

Explanation:

Given

$0 \leq t \leq 12$

Required

Determine the velocity when t = 8

This type of velocity is referred to as an instantaneous velocity.

In this case, it is calculated using

$Velocity = \frac{Distance\ at\ 8 second}{t = 8}$

Given that s(t) models the distance;

s(8) = distance at 8 seconds

So;

$Velocity = \frac{s(8)}{8}$

Option B answers the question