3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration
Choosing among the constant-acceleration equations by what is known and unknown, including two-body pursuit and chase setups.
University Physics Volume 1, 3.4 Motion with Constant Acceleration
12 exercises
3.4 Exercise 1
A rocket accelerates at a rate of 20 m/s2 during launch. How long does it take the rocket to reach a velocity of 400 m/s?
3.4 Exercise 2
A bicycle has a constant velocity of 10 m/s. A person starts from rest and begins to run to catch up to the bicycle in 30 s when the bicycle is at the same position as the person. What is the acceleration of the person?
3.4 Exercise 4
State two scenarios of the kinematics of single object where three known quantities require two kinematic equations to solve for the unknowns.
3.4 Exercise 5
A particle moves in a straight line at a constant velocity of 30 m/s. What is its displacement between t = 0 and t = 5.0 s?
3.4 Exercise 7
A particle moves in a straight line with an initial velocity of 30 m/s and constant acceleration 30 m/s2. (a) What is its displacement at t = 5 s? (b) What is its velocity at this same time?
3.4 Exercise 11
At t = 10 s, a particle is moving from left to right with a speed of 5.0 m/s. At t = 20 s, the particle is moving right to left with a speed of 8.0 m/s. Assuming the particle’s acceleration is constant, determine (a) its acceleration, (b) its initial velocity, and (c) the instant when its velocity is zero.
3.4 Exercise 13
A bullet in a gun is accelerated from the firing chamber to the end of the barrel at an average rate of for . What is its muzzle velocity (that is, its final velocity)?
3.4 Exercise 19
A powerful motorcycle can accelerate from rest to 26.8 m/s (100 km/h) in only 3.90 s. (a) What is its average acceleration? (b) Assuming constant acceleration, how far does it travel in that time?
3.4 Exercise 21
A fireworks shell is accelerated from rest to a velocity of 65.0 m/s over a distance of 0.250 m. (a) Calculate the acceleration. (b) How long did the acceleration last?
3.4 Exercise 23
A woodpecker’s brain is specially protected from large accelerations by tendon-like attachments inside the skull. While pecking on a tree, the woodpecker’s head comes to a stop from an initial velocity of 0.600 m/s in a distance of only 2.00 mm. (a) Find the acceleration in meters per second squared and in multiples of g, where g = 9.80 m/s2. (b) Calculate the stopping time. (c) The tendons cradli…
3.4 Exercise 25
A care package is dropped out of a cargo plane and lands in the forest. If we assume the care package speed on impact is 54 m/s (123 mph), then what is its acceleration? Assume the trees and snow stops it over a distance of 3.0 m.
3.4 Exercise 27
Unreasonable results Dragsters can actually reach a top speed of 145.0 m/s in only 4.45 s. (a) Calculate the average acceleration for such a dragster. (b) Find the final velocity of this dragster starting from rest and accelerating at the rate found in (a) for 402.0 m (a quarter mile) without using any information on time. (c) Why is the final velocity greater than that used to find the average ac…
Adapted from University Physics Volume 1 © 2016 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: University Physics Volume 1. Imported at revision db44eb9.