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Finding Velocity and Displacement

from Acceleration *

OpenStax
This work is produced by OpenStax-CNX and licensed under the
Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 „

Abstract
By the end of this section, you will be able to:
• Derive the kinematic equations for constant acceleration using integral calculus.
• Use the integral formulation of the kinematic equations in analyzing motion.
• Find the functional form of velocity versus time given the acceleration function.
• Find the functional form of position versus time given the velocity function.

This section assumes you have enough background in calculus to be familiar with integration. In In-
stantaneous Velocity and Speed and Average and Instantaneous Acceleration we introduced the kinematic
functions of velocity and acceleration using the derivative. By taking the derivative of the position function
we found the velocity function, and likewise by taking the derivative of the velocity function we found the
acceleration function. Using integral calculus, we can work backward and calculate the velocity function
from the acceleration function, and the position function from the velocity function.

1 Kinematic Equations from Integral Calculus

Let's begin with a particle with an acceleration a(t) which is a known function of time. Since the time
derivative of the velocity function is acceleration,

d
v (t) = a (t) , (1)
dt
we can take the indenite integral of both sides, nding

Z Z
d
v (t) dt = a (t) dt + C1 , (2)
dt
R d
where C 1 is a constant of integration. Since
dt v (t) dt = v (t), the velocity is given by

note:

Z
v (t) = a (t) dt + C1 . (3)

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Similarly, the time derivative of the position function is the velocity function,

d
x (t) = v (t) . (4)
dt
Thus, we can use the same mathematical manipulations we just used and nd

note:

Z
x (t) = v (t) dt + C2 , (5)

where C 2 is a second constant of integration.

We can derive the kinematic equations for a constant acceleration using these integrals. With a(t) = a
a constant, and doing the integration in (3), we nd

Z
v (t) = adt + C1 = at + C1 . (6)

If the initial velocity is v (0) = v 0 , then

v0 = 0 + C 1 . (7)

Then, C 1 = v 0 and

v (t) = v0 + at, (8)

which is . Substituting this expression into (5) gives

Z
x (t) = (v0 + at) dt + C2 . (9)

Doing the integration, we nd

1
x (t) = v0 t + at2 + C2 . (10)
2
If x (0) = x 0 , we have

x0 = 0 + 0 + C 2 ; (11)

so, C 2 = x 0 . Substituting back into the equation for x (t), we nally have

1
x (t) = x0 + v0 t + at2 , (12)
2
which is .

Example 1
Motion of a Motorboat
A motorboat is traveling at a constant velocity of 5.0 m/s when it starts to decelerate to arrive at
the dock. Its acceleration is a (t) = − 14 t m/s3 . (a) What is the velocity function of the motorboat?
(b) At what time does the velocity reach zero? (c) What is the position function of the motorboat?
(d) What is the displacement of the motorboat from the time it begins to decelerate to when the
velocity is zero? (e) Graph the velocity and position functions.

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Strategy
(a) To get the velocity function we must integrate and use initial conditions to nd the constant
of integration. (b) We set the velocity function equal to zero and solve for t. (c) Similarly, we must
integrate to nd the position function and use initial conditions to nd the constant of integration.
(d) Since the initial position is taken to be zero, we only have to evaluate the position function at
t = 0.
Solution
We take t = 0 to be the time when the boat starts to decelerate.

a. From the functional form of the acceleration we can solve (3) to get v (t):

Z Z
1 1
v (t) = a (t) dt + C1 = − tdt + C1 = − t2 + C1 . (13)
4 8

At t = 0 we have v (0) = 5.0 m/s = 0 + C 1 , so C 1 = 5.0 m/s or v (t) = 5.0 m/s − 81 t2 .

1 2 3
b. v (t) = 0 = 5.0 m/s − 8 t m/s ⇒ t = 6.3 s
c. Solve (5):

Z Z  
1 2 1
x (t) = v (t) dt + C2 = 5.0 − t dt + C2 = 5.0tm/s − t3 m/s3 + C2 . (14)
8 24

At t = 0, we set x (0) = 0 = x 0 , since we are only interested in the displacement from when
the boat starts to decelerate. We have

x (0) = 0 = C2 . (15)

Therefore, the equation for the position is

1 3
x (t) = 5.0t − t . (16)
24
d. Since the initial position is taken to be zero, we only have to evaluate the position function
at the time when the velocity is zero. This occurs at t = 6.3 s. Therefore, the displacement is

1
x (6.3) = 5.0 (6.3s) − (6.3s) = 21.1 m. (17)
24

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Figure 17: (a) Velocity of the motorboat as a function of time. The motorboat decreases its velocity
to zero in 6.3 s. At times greater than this, velocity becomes negativemeaning, the boat is reversing
direction. (b) Position of the motorboat as a function of time. At = 6.3 s, the velocity is zero and
t
the boat has stopped. At times greater than this, the velocity becomes negativemeaning, if the boat
continues to move with the same acceleration, it reverses direction and heads back toward where it
originated.

Signicance
The acceleration function is linear in time so the integration involves simple polynomials. In
Figure 17, we see that if we extend the solution beyond the point when the velocity is zero, the
velocity becomes negative and the boat reverses direction. This tells us that solutions can give us
information outside our immediate interest and we should be careful when interpreting them.

note: Exercise 1 (Solution on p. 13.)

Check Your Understanding A particle starts from rest and has an acceleration function
2
5 − 10tm/s . (a) What is the velocity function? (b) What is the position function? (c)
When is the velocity zero?

2 Summary
ˆ Integral calculus gives us a more complete formulation of kinematics.
ˆ If acceleration a(t) is known, we can use integral calculus to derive expressions for velocity v (t) and
position x (t).
ˆ If acceleration is constant, the integral equations reduce to and for motion with constant acceleration.

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3 Key Equations

Displacement ∆x = xf − xi
P
Total displacement ∆xTotal = ∆xi
 ∆x x2 −x1
Average velocity (for constant acceleration) v= ∆t = t2 −t1
dx(t)
Instantaneous velocity v (t) = dt
 Total distance
Average speed Average speed =s= Elapsed time
Instantaneous speed Instantaneous speed = |v (t) |
 ∆v v −v
Average acceleration a= ∆t = tff −t00
dv(t)
Instantaneous acceleration a (t) = dt

Position from average velocity x = x0 + v t
 v0 +v
Average velocity v= 2
Velocity from acceleration v = v0 + at (constant a)
Position from velocity and acceleration x = x0 + v0 t + 21 at2 (constant a)
Velocity from distance v 2 = v02 + 2a (x − x0 ) (constant a)
Velocity of free fall v = v0 − gt (positive upward)
1 2
Height of free fall y = y0 + v 0 t − 2 gt
Velocity of free fall from height v 2 = v02 − 2g (y − y0 )
R
Velocity from acceleration v (t) = a (t) dt + C1
R
Position from velocity x (t) = v (t) dt + C2

Table 1

4 Conceptual Questions
Exercise 2
When given the acceleration function, what additional information is needed to nd the velocity
function and position function?

5 Problems
Exercise 3
The acceleration of a particle varies with time according to the equation a (t) = pt2 − qt3 . Initially,
the velocity and position are zero. (a) What is the velocity as a function of time? (b) What is the
position as a function of time?

Exercise 4 (Solution on p. 13.)

Between t = 0 and t = t 0 , a rocket moves straight upward with an acceleration given by a (t) =
A − Bt1 /2 , where A and B are constants. (a) If x is in meters and t is in seconds, what are the
units of A and B? (b) If the rocket starts from rest, how does the velocity vary between t = 0 and
t = t 0 ? (c) If its initial position is zero, what is the rocket's position as a function of time during
this same time interval?

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Exercise 5
The velocity of a particle moving along the x-axis varies with time according to v (t) = A + Bt−1 ,
where A = 2 m/s, B = 0.25 m, and 1.0 s ≤ t ≤ 8.0 s. Determine the acceleration and position of
the particle at t = 2.0 s and t = 5.0 s. Assume that x (t = 1 s) = 0.
Exercise 6 (Solution on p. 13.)
A particle at rest leaves the origin with its velocity increasing with time according to v (t) = 3.2t
m/s. At 5.0 s, the particle's velocity starts decreasing according to [16.0  1.5(t  5.0)] m/s. This
decrease continues until t = 11.0 s, after which the particle's velocity remains constant at 7.0 m/s.
(a) What is the acceleration of the particle as a function of time? (b) What is the position of the
particle at t = 2.0 s, t = 7.0 s, and t = 12.0 s?

6 Additional Problems
Exercise 7
Professional baseball player Nolan Ryan could pitch a baseball at approximately 160.0 km/h. At
that average velocity, how long did it take a ball thrown by Ryan to reach home plate, which is
18.4 m from the pitcher's mound? Compare this with the average reaction time of a human to a
visual stimulus, which is 0.25 s.

Exercise 8 (Solution on p. 14.)

An airplane leaves Chicago and makes the 3000-km trip to Los Angeles in 5.0 h. A second plane
leaves Chicago one-half hour later and arrives in Los Angeles at the same time. Compare the
average velocities of the two planes. Ignore the curvature of Earth and the dierence in altitude
between the two cities.

Exercise 9
Unreasonable Results A cyclist rides 16.0 km east, then 8.0 km west, then 8.0 km east, then
32.0 km west, and nally 11.2 km east. If his average velocity is 24 km/h, how long did it take him
to complete the trip? Is this a reasonable time?

Exercise 10 (Solution on p. 14.)

2
An object has an acceleration of +1.2 cm/s . At t = 4.0 s, its velocity is −3.4 cm/s. Determine
the object's velocities at t = 1.0 s and t = 6.0 s.
Exercise 11
A particle moves along the x -axis according to the equation x (t) = 2.0 − 4.0t2 m. What are the
velocity and acceleration at t = 2.0 s and t = 5.0 s?

Exercise 12 (Solution on p. 14.)

A particle moving at constant acceleration has velocities of 2.0 m/s at t = 2.0 s and −7.6 m/s at
t = 5.2 s. What is the acceleration of the particle?

Exercise 13
A train is moving up a steep grade at constant velocity (see following gure) when its caboose
breaks loose and starts rolling freely along the track. After 5.0 s, the caboose is 30 m behind the
train. What is the acceleration of the caboose?

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Exercise 14 (Solution on p. 14.)

An electron is moving in a straight line with a velocity of 4.0 × 105 m/s. It enters a region 5.0 cm
2
long where it undergoes an acceleration of 6.0 × 1012 m/s along the same straight line. (a) What
is the electron's velocity when it emerges from this region? b) How long does the electron take to
cross the region?

Exercise 15
An ambulance driver is rushing a patient to the hospital. While traveling at 72 km/h, she notices
the trac light at the upcoming intersections has turned amber. To reach the intersection before the
light turns red, she must travel 50 m in 2.0 s. (a) What minimum acceleration must the ambulance
have to reach the intersection before the light turns red? (b) What is the speed of the ambulance
when it reaches the intersection?

Exercise 16 (Solution on p. 14.)

A motorcycle that is slowing down uniformly covers 2.0 successive km in 80 s and 120 s, respectively.
Calculate (a) the acceleration of the motorcycle and (b) its velocity at the beginning and end of
the 2-km trip.

Exercise 17
A cyclist travels from point A to point B in 10 min. During the rst 2.0 min of her trip, she
2
maintains a uniform acceleration of 0.090 m/s . She then travels at constant velocity for the next
5.0 min. Next, she decelerates at a constant rate so that she comes to a rest at point B 3.0 min
later. (a) Sketch the velocity-versus-time graph for the trip. (b) What is the acceleration during
the last 3 min? (c) How far does the cyclist travel?

Exercise 18 (Solution on p. 14.)

Two trains are moving at 30 m/s in opposite directions on the same track. The engineers see
simultaneously that they are on a collision course and apply the brakes when they are 1000 m
apart. Assuming both trains have the same acceleration, what must this acceleration be if the
trains are to stop just short of colliding?

Exercise 19
A 10.0-m-long truck moving with a constant velocity of 97.0 km/h passes a 3.0-m-long car moving
with a constant velocity of 80.0 km/h. How much time elapses between the moment the front of

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the truck is even with the back of the car and the moment the back of the truck is even with the
front of the car?

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Exercise 20 (Solution on p. 14.)

A police car waits in hiding slightly o the highway. A speeding car is spotted by the police car
doing 40 m/s. At the instant the speeding car passes the police car, the police car accelerates from
rest at 4 m/s
2 to catch the speeding car. How long does it take the police car to catch the speeding
car?

Exercise 21
Pablo is running in a half marathon at a velocity of 3 m/s. Another runner, Jacob, is 50 meters
2
behind Pablo with the same velocity. Jacob begins to accelerate at 0.05 m/s . (a) How long does
it take Jacob to catch Pablo? (b) What is the distance covered by Jacob? (c) What is the nal
velocity of Jacob?

Exercise 22 (Solution on p. 14.)

Unreasonable results A runner approaches the nish line and is 75 m away; her average speed
2
at this position is 8 m/s. She decelerates at this point at 0.5 m/s . How long does it take her to
cross the nish line from 75 m away? Is this reasonable?

Exercise 23
An airplane accelerates at 5.0 m/s
2 for 30.0 s. During this time, it covers a distance of 10.0 km.
What are the initial and nal velocities of the airplane?

Exercise 24 (Solution on p. 15.)

Compare the distance traveled of an object that undergoes a change in velocity that is twice its
initial velocity with an object that changes its velocity by four times its initial velocity over the
same time period. The accelerations of both objects are constant.

Exercise 25
An object is moving east with a constant velocity and is at position x0 at time t0 = 0. (a) With
what acceleration must the object have for its total displacement to be zero at a later time t ? (b)
What is the physical interpretation of the solution in the case for t → ∞?
Exercise 26 (Solution on p. 15.)
A ball is thrown straight up. It passes a 2.00-m-high window 7.50 m o the ground on its path up
and takes 1.30 s to go past the window. What was the ball's initial velocity?

Exercise 27
A coin is dropped from a hot-air balloon that is 300 m above the ground and rising at 10.0 m/s
upward. For the coin, nd (a) the maximum height reached, (b) its position and velocity 4.00 s
after being released, and (c) the time before it hits the ground.

Exercise 28 (Solution on p. 15.)

A soft tennis ball is dropped onto a hard oor from a height of 1.50 m and rebounds to a height
of 1.10 m. (a) Calculate its velocity just before it strikes the oor. (b) Calculate its velocity just
after it leaves the oor on its way back up. (c) Calculate its acceleration during contact with the
3.50 × 10−3 s


oor if that contact lasts 3.50 ms (d) How much did the ball compress during its
collision with the oor, assuming the oor is absolutely rigid?

Exercise 29
Unreasonable results. A raindrop falls from a cloud 100 m above the ground. Neglect air
resistance. What is the speed of the raindrop when it hits the ground? Is this a reasonable
number?

Exercise 30 (Solution on p. 15.)

Compare the time in the air of a basketball player who jumps 1.0 m vertically o the oor with
that of a player who jumps 0.3 m vertically.

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Exercise 31
Suppose that a person takes 0.5 s to react and move his hand to catch an object he has dropped.
2
(a) How far does the object fall on Earth, where g = 9.8 m/s ? (b) How far does the object fall on
the Moon, where the acceleration due to gravity is 1/6 of that on Earth?

Exercise 32 (Solution on p. 15.)

A hot-air balloon rises from ground level at a constant velocity of 3.0 m/s. One minute after lifto,
a sandbag is dropped accidentally from the balloon. Calculate (a) the time it takes for the sandbag
to reach the ground and (b) the velocity of the sandbag when it hits the ground.

Exercise 33
(a) A world record was set for the men's 100-m dash in the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing by
Usain Bolt of Jamaica. Bolt coasted across the nish line with a time of 9.69 s. If we assume that
Bolt accelerated for 3.00 s to reach his maximum speed, and maintained that speed for the rest of
the race, calculate his maximum speed and his acceleration. (b) During the same Olympics, Bolt
also set the world record in the 200-m dash with a time of 19.30 s. Using the same assumptions as
for the 100-m dash, what was his maximum speed for this race?

Exercise 34 (Solution on p. 15.)

An object is dropped from a height of 75.0 m above ground level. (a) Determine the distance
traveled during the rst second. (b) Determine the nal velocity at which the object hits the
ground. (c) Determine the distance traveled during the last second of motion before hitting the
ground.

Exercise 35
A steel ball is dropped onto a hard oor from a height of 1.50 m and rebounds to a height of
1.45 m. (a) Calculate its velocity just before it strikes the oor. (b) Calculate its velocity just
after it leaves the oor on its way back up. (c) Calculate its acceleration during contact with the
8.00 × 10−5 s


oor if that contact lasts 0.0800 ms (d) How much did the ball compress during
its collision with the oor, assuming the oor is absolutely rigid?

Exercise 36 (Solution on p. 15.)

An object is dropped from a roof of a building of height h. During the last second of its descent,
it drops a distance h/3. Calculate the height of the building.

7 Challenge Problems
Exercise 37
In a 100-m race, the winner is timed at 11.2 s. The second-place nisher's time is 11.6 s. How far
is the second-place nisher behind the winner when she crosses the nish line? Assume the velocity
of each runner is constant throughout the race.

Exercise 38 (Solution on p. 15.)

The position of a particle moving along the x -axis varies with time according to x (t) = 5.0t2 −4.0t3
m. Find (a) the velocity and acceleration of the particle as functions of time, (b) the velocity and
acceleration at t = 2.0 s, (c) the time at which the position is a maximum, (d) the time at which
the velocity is zero, and (e) the maximum position.

Exercise 39
A cyclist sprints at the end of a race to clinch a victory. She has an initial velocity of 11.5 m/s
and accelerates at a rate of 0.500 m/s
2 for 7.00 s. (a) What is her nal velocity? (b) The cyclist
continues at this velocity to the nish line. If she is 300 m from the nish line when she starts to
accelerate, how much time did she save? (c) The second-place winner was 5.00 m ahead when the
winner started to accelerate, but he was unable to accelerate, and traveled at 11.8 m/s until the

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nish line. What was the dierence in nish time in seconds between the winner and runner-up?
How far back was the runner-up when the winner crossed the nish line?

Exercise 40 (Solution on p. 15.)

In 1967, New Zealander Burt Munro set the world record for an Indian motorcycle, on the Bon-
neville Salt Flats in Utah, of 295.38 km/h. The one-way course was 8.00 km long. Acceleration
rates are often described by the time it takes to reach 96.0 km/h from rest. If this time was 4.00 s
and Burt accelerated at this rate until he reached his maximum speed, how long did it take Burt
to complete the course?

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Solutions to Exercises in this Module

Solution to Exercise (p. 4)
a. The velocity function is the integral of the acceleration function plus a constant of integration. By (3),
(5 − 10t) dt + C1 = 5t − 5t2 + C1 .
R R
v (t) = a (t) dt + C1 =
Since v (0) = 0, we have C 1 = 0; so,
v (t) = 5t − 5t2 .
b. By (5),
5t − 5t2 dt + C2 = 52 t2 − 35 t3 + C2 .
R R

x (t) = v (t) dt + C2 =
Since x (0) = 0, we have C 2 = 0, and
x (t) = 52 t2 − 53 t3 .
c. The velocity can be written as v (t) = 5t(1  t), which equals zero at t = 0, and t = 1 s.

Solution to Exercise (p. 5)

2 5 /2
a. A = m/s B = m/s ;

b. ;
A − Bt1 /2 dt + C1 = At − 32 Bt3 /2 + C1
R R

v(t) = a (t) dt + C1 =
3/2
v(0) = 0 = C1 so v (t0 ) = At0 − 32 Bt0

c.
At − 32 Bt3 /2 dt + C2 = 12 At2 − 4 5 /2
R R

x(t) = v (t) dt + C2 = 15 Bt + C2
1 2 4 5/2
x(0) = 0 = C2 so x (t0 ) = 2 At0 − 15 Bt0
Solution to Exercise (p. 6)

2
a. a(t) = 3.2m/s t ≤ 5.0 s ;
2
a(t) = 1.5m/s 5.0 s ≤ t ≤ 11.0 s
2
a(t) = 0m/s t > 11.0 s

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3.2tdt + C2 = 1.6t2 + C2
R R
x(t) = v (t) dt + C2 =
t≤ 5.0 s
x(0) = 0 ⇒ C2 = 0 therefore, x (2.0 s) = 6.4 m
 2 
v (t) dt + C2 = [16.0 − 1.5 (t − 5.0)] dt + C2 = 16t − 1.5 t2 − 5.0t + C2
R R
x(t) =

5.0≤ t ≤ 11.0 s
 
2 52
b. x(5 s) = 1.6(5.0) = 40 m = 16 (5.0 s) − 1.5 2 − 5.0 (5.0) + C2
40=98.75+C2 ⇒ C2 = −58.75
 2 
7
x(7.0 s) = 16 (7.0) − 1.5 − 5.0 (7) − 58.75 = 69 m
2
R
x(t) = 7.0dt + C2 = 7t + C2
t≥ 11.0 s
 
112
x(11.0 s) = 16 (11) − 1.5 2 − 5.0 (11) − 58.75 = 109 = 7 (11.0 s) + C2 ⇒ C2 = 32 m
x(t) = 7t + 32 m
x≥ 11.0 s ⇒ x (12.0 s) = 7 (12) + 32 = 116 m
Solution to Exercise (p. 6)
Take west to be the positive direction.

1st plane: ν= 600 km/h

2nd plane ν= 667.0 km/h
Solution to Exercise (p. 6)
−3.4 cm/s−v0 2
a = v−v
t−t0 , t = 0, a =
0
4s = 1.2 cm/s ⇒ v0 = −8.2 cm/sv = v0 + at = −8.2 + 1.2 t; v =
−7.0 cm/s v = −1.0 cm/s
Solution to Exercise (p. 6)
2
a = −3 m/s
Solution to Exercise (p. 7)
a.
v = 8.7 × 105 m/s;
−8
b. t = 7.8 × 10 s
Solution to Exercise (p. 7)
2 2 2
1 km = v0 (80.0 s) + 21 a(80.0) ; 2 km = v0 (200.0) + 12 a(200.0) solve simultaneously to get
0.1
a = − 2400.0 km/s
and v0 = 0.014167 km/s, which is 51.0 km/h. Velocity at the end of the trip is v = 21.0 km/h.
Solution to Exercise (p. 7)
2
a = −0.9 m/s
Solution to Exercise (p. 10)
Equation for the speeding car: This car has a constant velocity, which is the average velocity, and is not
 
accelerating, so use the equation for displacement with x0 = 0:x = x0 + v t =v t; Equation for the police
car: This car is accelerating, so use the equation for displacement with x0 = 0 and v0 = 0, since
the police
car starts from rest: x = x0 + v0 t + 21 at2 =
1 2
2 at ; Now we have an equation of motion for each car with
a common parameter, which can be eliminated to nd the solution. In this case, we solve for t. Step 1,
 
1 2 2v
eliminating x: x =v t = at ; Step 2, solving for t: t =
2 a . The speeding car has a constant velocity of 40
2
m/s, which is its average velocity. The acceleration of the police car is 4 m/s . Evaluating t, the time for

the police car to reach the speeding car, we have t =
2v
= 2(40) = 20 s. a 4

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Solution to Exercise (p. 10)

−v0 8
At this acceleration she comes to a full stop in t = a = 0.5 = 16 s, but the distance covered is x =
2
8 m/s(16 s) − 12 (0.5) (16 s) = 64 m, which is less than the distance she is away from the nish line, so she
never nishes the race.
Solution to Exercise (p. 10)
x1 = 32 v0 t
x2 = 53 x1
Solution to Exercise (p. 10)
v0 = 7.9 m/s velocity at the bottom of the window.
v = 7.9 m/s
v0 = 14.1 m/s
Solution to Exercise (p. 10)
a. v = 5.42 m/s;
b. v = 4.64 m/s;
2
c. a = 2874.28 m/s ;
d. (x − x0 ) = 5.11 × 10−3 m
Solution to Exercise (p. 10)
Consider the players fall from rest at the height 1.0 m and 0.3 m.
0.9 s
0.5 s
Solution to Exercise (p. 11)
a. t = 6.37 s taking the positive root;
b. v = 59.5 m/s
Solution to Exercise (p. 11)
a. y = 4.9 m;
b. v = 38.3 m/s;
c. −33.3 m
Solution to Exercise (p. 11)
h = 12 gt2 , h = total height and time to drop to ground
2 1 2
3 h = 2 g(t − 1) in t  1 seconds it drops 2/3h
2 2 2
2 1 2
= 21 g(t − 1) or t3 = 21 (t − 1)


3 2 gt √ √
6± 6 2 −4·3
0 = t2 − 6t + 3t = 2 = 3 ± 224
t = 5.45 s and h = 145.5 m. Other root is less than 1 s. Check for t = 4.45 s h = 21 gt2 = 97.0 m = 2
3 (145.5)
Solution to Exercise (p. 11)
2
a. v (t) = 10t − 12t2 m/s, a (t) = 10 − 24t m/s ;
2
b. v (2 s) = −28 m/s, a (2 s) = −38m/s ; c. The slope of the position function is zero or the velocity is zero.
There are two possible solutions: t = 0, which gives x = 0, or t = 10.0/12.0 = 0.83 s, which gives x = 1.16
m. The second answer is the correct choice; d. 0.83 s (e) 1.16 m
Solution to Exercise (p. 12)
26.67 m/s 2
96 km/h = 26.67 m/s, a = 4.0 s = 6.67m/s , 295.38 km/h = 82.05 m/s, t = 12.3 s time to accelerate to
maximum speed
x = 504.55 m distance covered during acceleration
7495.44 m at a constant speed
7495.44 m
82.05 m/s = 91.35 s so total time is 91.35 s + 12.3 s = 103.65 s.

http://cnx.org/content/m58287/1.11/