- #1
Zorodius
- 184
- 0
A problem in my book reads as follows:
A 1000 kg boat is traveling at 90 km/h when its engine is shut off. The magnitude of the frictional force [itex]\vec{f_k}[/itex] between boat and water is proportional to the speed v of the boat: [itex]f_k = 70v[/itex], where v is in meters per second and [itex]f_k[/itex] is in Newtons. Find the time required for the boat to slow to 45 km/h.
My question with this is: g'nhuh? If the magnitude of the frictional force is a function of velocity, that seems to imply that the acceleration is not constant. I was under the impression that the equations for motion and friction that I had been given so far applied only to constant acceleration. I tried to solve this by converting the measurements into meters per second (25 m/s when the engine is shut off, slows to 12.5 m/s) and then guessing that, since a=f/m, then a=70v/1000, and perhaps I could say v = 25 - 70 v / 1000 * t. I solved this for v, and graphically found that v = 12.5 when t is about 14.6. Unfortunately, that wasn't the right answer, which isn't particularly surprising since I'm unsure where to go with this from the very start.
A little help?
A 1000 kg boat is traveling at 90 km/h when its engine is shut off. The magnitude of the frictional force [itex]\vec{f_k}[/itex] between boat and water is proportional to the speed v of the boat: [itex]f_k = 70v[/itex], where v is in meters per second and [itex]f_k[/itex] is in Newtons. Find the time required for the boat to slow to 45 km/h.
My question with this is: g'nhuh? If the magnitude of the frictional force is a function of velocity, that seems to imply that the acceleration is not constant. I was under the impression that the equations for motion and friction that I had been given so far applied only to constant acceleration. I tried to solve this by converting the measurements into meters per second (25 m/s when the engine is shut off, slows to 12.5 m/s) and then guessing that, since a=f/m, then a=70v/1000, and perhaps I could say v = 25 - 70 v / 1000 * t. I solved this for v, and graphically found that v = 12.5 when t is about 14.6. Unfortunately, that wasn't the right answer, which isn't particularly surprising since I'm unsure where to go with this from the very start.
A little help?