Question

A speeding car traveling at 24.8 m/s passes a police car that is at rest. The police car begins its pursuit at the instant the speeding car passes and maintains a constant acceleration. (a) What acceleration is required for the police car to overtake the speeding car in 897 m?

Answer 1

Answer:

the acceleration required is 1.37m/s^2

Explanation:

The car is having a constant velocity movement, so if we calculate the time to reach 897m, we can use it to find the acceleration the policeman need to apply to reach the car.

$x=v*t\\t=\frac{x}{v}\\t=\frac{897m}{24.8m/s}\\t=36.17s$

the policeman is traveling with a constant acceleration starting from rest so:

$x=\frac{1}{2}*a*t^2\\\\a=\frac{2*x}{t^2}\\\\a=1.37 m/s2$