Kinematics problem (one dimension)

In summary, the problem involves two trains, a red one and a yellow one, traveling towards each other on a straight railway-track. When the distance between them is 800 m, the drivers hit the brakes simultaneously and the graph attached shows their velocity in respect to time. The question is whether the trains collide into each other and if so, when, or if they stop before colliding, what is the distance between them at that point. The attached images show the calculations and graph for the problem, with a request for a schematic displacement-time graph for both trains. There may be some alignment and scale issues with the attachments.
  • #1
Omri
34
0
Hello,

I am a tenth-grader physics student, and I have a mechanics-realted problem you may think is quite trivial, but I have been unsuccessfully trying to solve it for a whole day, so I would thank you if you answered.
Please consider the attached graph; the question relates to it:
Two trains, a red one and a yellow one, travel towards each other on a straight railway-track. When the distance between them is 800 m, the drivers notice the danger and hit the brakes simultaneously. The graph shows their velocity in respect to time from the moment of hitting the brakes, if each train had traveled alone.
(Here there are a couple of pretty eaay questions; I'm skipping right to the problem.)
Did the trains collide into each other? If they did – when did it happen? And if the didn't – what was the distance between them when they stopped?
The other attached image shows my feeble attempts to solve this question.
The last thing I should do about these trains is draw (on the same coordinate system) a schematic displacement-time graph for both trains from t=0 to the moment of stopping/collision.

Thanks for your help!

Attachments:
Image 1 (the calculations) - http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/2295/trains1dy3.jpg
Image 2 (the graph) - http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/200/trains2ab7.jpg

P.S: I just noticed a couple of small alignment problems in Image 1. I'm sorry about them, I think my OpenOffice needs a bit of configuration.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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  • #2
You're in tenth grade, so I assume you haven't learned calculus yet?

Also, my computer seems to have cut off the bottom of the graph. Does the red function start at -30?
And what's the scale of the x-axis? How many seconds is each line?
 
  • #3
You got the deceleration of the yellow train wrong. It equals 45/30 = 1.5 [m/s^2].
 

1. What is Kinematics?

Kinematics is the study of the motion of objects, including their position, velocity, and acceleration, without considering the forces that cause the motion.

2. What is a one-dimensional kinematics problem?

A one-dimensional kinematics problem involves the motion of an object along a straight line, with only one coordinate axis (such as left/right or up/down) to describe its position.

3. How do you solve a one-dimensional kinematics problem?

To solve a one-dimensional kinematics problem, you need to identify the given information, such as initial and final positions, velocities, and accelerations. Then, use the equations of motion (such as displacement = initial velocity * time + 1/2 * acceleration * time^2) to solve for the unknown quantity.

4. What is the difference between speed and velocity in a kinematics problem?

Speed refers to how fast an object is moving, while velocity refers to both the speed and the direction of motion. In a one-dimensional kinematics problem, velocity is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction, while speed is a scalar quantity, only having magnitude.

5. Can a one-dimensional kinematics problem have a negative velocity or acceleration?

Yes, a one-dimensional kinematics problem can have a negative velocity or acceleration. This indicates that the object is moving in the negative direction (opposite to the positive direction chosen for the coordinate axis). Negative velocities and accelerations can also represent a decrease in speed or deceleration.

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