Question

Vinny is on a motorcycle at rest, 200 m away from a ramp that jumps over a gully. Calculate the minimum constant acceleration Vinny must have to get to the ramp in 8 s before his pursuers catch up with him.

Answer 1

Answer: 6.25 m/s^2

Explanation:

The distance between Vinny and the ramp is 200m

And he has 8 seconds (At max) to reach that distance.

The initial velocity is 0m/s

The initial position is 0m

Now, we want to find the constant acceleration in order to do this, so suppose that we have a constant acceleration A.

a(t) = A.

To have the velocity, we must integrate over time, and remember that the constant of integration is equal to zero because the initial velocity is zero.

v(t) = A*t

For the position, we integrate again over time.

p(t) = 0.5*A*t^2

And we want to travel 200m in 8 seconds, then:

p(8s) = 200m

0.5*A*(8s)^2 = 200m

A*32s^2 = 200m

A = 200m/32s^2 = 6.25 m/s^2

This is the minimum acceleration in order to do this, if Vinny has a larger acceleration he will travel the 200m in a smaller time.