Determine the car's acceleration when t=4sec. ANS: 1.06 m/sec^2

  • Context: Undergrad 
  • Thread starter Thread starter jjiimmyy101
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Acceleration
Click For Summary

Discussion Overview

The discussion revolves around determining the acceleration of a car that starts from rest and moves along a straight line with a given acceleration function. Participants explore the integration of acceleration to find velocity and position, with a specific focus on calculating the car's acceleration at t=4 seconds.

Discussion Character

  • Technical explanation
  • Mathematical reasoning
  • Homework-related

Main Points Raised

  • One participant presents the problem and expresses a lack of understanding of integrals, suggesting a need to integrate the acceleration equation to find position.
  • Another participant provides a detailed integration process, starting from the relationship between acceleration, velocity, and position, and arrives at an expression for velocity in terms of position.
  • This participant also integrates to find the position as a function of time, leading to a specific value for position at t=4 seconds.
  • A third participant requests clarification on a specific step in the integration process, indicating a need for more detailed explanation.
  • A fourth participant mentions a basic formula for integration, implying a foundational understanding of the integration process.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

There is no consensus on the integration steps, as one participant seeks clarification on a specific transition in the calculations. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the clarity of the integration process.

Contextual Notes

Participants express varying levels of familiarity with calculus, which may affect their understanding of the integration steps involved in solving the problem. The discussion includes assumptions about initial conditions and constants of integration that are not fully detailed.

Who May Find This Useful

This discussion may be useful for students learning calculus, particularly in the context of physics problems involving motion, as well as those seeking to understand the integration of acceleration to find velocity and position.

jjiimmyy101
Messages
74
Reaction score
0
Problem: A car starts from rest and moves along a straight line with an acceleration of a=(3s^-1/3)m/sec^2, where s is in metres. Determine the car's acceleration when t=4sec. ANS: 1.06 m/sec^2

Alright...I know nothing about integrals...really, nothing. I was never taught anything about integrals even though I've taken calculus courses before.

Here's what I think I should do.

Take the equation a = d^2s/dt^2 and INTEGRATE it to find the position (s) and then substitute back into original equation. But how do you do this.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
If u want to taste calculus here it goes then

Now [tex]a=\frac{dv}{dt}=\frac{dv*ds}{ds*dt}=\frac{vdv}{ds}=3s^{-\frac{1}{3}}[/tex]

[tex]vdv=3s^{-\frac{1}{3}} ds[/tex]
integrate u wll get [tex]v^2=9s^{\frac{2}{3}}+c[/tex]

From conditions given c=0
therefore [tex]v^2=9s^{\frac{2}{3}}[/tex]
Now [tex]v=3s^{\frac{1}{3}}[/tex]

v=ds/dt

so we again have

[tex]s^{-\frac{1}{3}} ds = 3dt[/tex]
Again integrating u get
[tex]\int s^{-\frac{1}{3}} ds = \int 3dt[/tex]
u get
[tex]\frac{3}{2} s^{\frac{2}{3}}=3t+c[/tex]

From the given conditions c=0
so we have
[tex]s^{\frac{2}{3}}=2t[/tex]

So at t=4, s=[tex]8^{\frac{3}{2}}[/tex]

and hence acceleration a= 3[tex]8^{-\frac{1}{3}}[/tex] = 1.06
 
Last edited:
Thank-you.

I'll apologize before I even ask.
Sorry.

I know you integrated, but could you show me in more detail how you went from v*dv = 3*s^-1/3*ds
to
v^2 = 9*s^2/3 + c
 
It is a basic formula

[tex]\int x^n dx = \frac{x^{n+1}}{n+1}[/tex]
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
7
Views
4K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
1K
  • · Replies 15 ·
Replies
15
Views
6K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
4K
  • · Replies 20 ·
Replies
20
Views
3K
  • · Replies 6 ·
Replies
6
Views
3K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
3K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
3K
Replies
1
Views
2K