Answer:
a) time taken to catch up with speeding car is 12.25 secs
b) the police car will travel 273.8 m to catch up with the speeding car
Explanation:
Given that;
speed of car 
= 50 mi/hr = 22.352 m/s
acceleration of police car = 10 mi/hr = 4.47 m/s²
= 70 mi/hr = 31.29 m/s
Now time taken to reach maximum speed is t₁
so
= 
+ at₁
we substitute
31.29 = 0 + 4.47t₁
t₁ = 31.29 / 4.47
t₁ = 7 sec
now
d₁ = 0 + 1/2 × at₁²
d₁ = 0 + 1/2 × 0 + 4.47×(7)²
d₁ = 109.5 m
so distance travelled by the speeding car in time t₁ will be
= × t₁
we substitute
= 22.352 × 7
= 156.46 m
now distance between polive car and speeding car
Δd = - d₁
Δd = 156.46 - 109.5
Δd = 46.96 m
time taken to cover Δd will be
t₂ = Δd / ( - )
t₂ = 46.96 / ( 31.29 - 22.352 )
t₂ = 46.96 / 8.938
t₂ = 5.25 sec
distance travelled by the police in time t₂ will be
d₂ = × t₂
d₂ = 31.29 × 5.25
d₂ = 164.3 m
a) How long will it take before the officer catches up to the speeding car;
time taken to catch up with speeding car;
t = t₁ + t₂
t = 7 + 5.25
t = 12.25 secs
Therefore, time taken to catch up with speeding car is 12.25 secs
b) how far will it have travelled in order to do so;
distance = d₁ + d₂
distance = 109.5 + 164.3
distance = 273.8 m
Therefore, the police car will travel 273.8 m to catch up with the speeding car
