- #1
recon
- 401
- 1
A stone slides across an icy surface and travels a distance of x in time t while suffering uniform retardation. Which of the following pairs of quantities, plotted to represent the motion of the stone, would give a straight-line graph?
A. x and t
B. x and t2
C. x/t and t2
D. x/t and t
E. x/t2 and t
This is my approach to the problem:
The initial velocity, u = at.
Hence, the distance traveled by the stone, x = 0.5at2
x/t2 = (0.5at2)/t2
= 0.5a
Since a is a constant, then a flat line would be represented in a graph of axes x/t2 and t.
Also, in D., x/t = v, which decreases at a constant rate because of the constant deceleration, so this is another straight-line graph.
Obviously, there must be something wrong with my reasoning because there can only be one, and not two answers for each multiple choice question.
A. x and t
B. x and t2
C. x/t and t2
D. x/t and t
E. x/t2 and t
This is my approach to the problem:
The initial velocity, u = at.
Hence, the distance traveled by the stone, x = 0.5at2
x/t2 = (0.5at2)/t2
= 0.5a
Since a is a constant, then a flat line would be represented in a graph of axes x/t2 and t.
Also, in D., x/t = v, which decreases at a constant rate because of the constant deceleration, so this is another straight-line graph.
Obviously, there must be something wrong with my reasoning because there can only be one, and not two answers for each multiple choice question.