I dont understand what uniform acceleration is?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around the concept of uniform acceleration in physics, specifically in the context of a problem involving an object accelerating from an initial speed. The original poster seeks clarification on the basics of uniform acceleration and its implications for solving related problems.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the definitions of velocity and acceleration, emphasizing the constancy of acceleration over time. Some suggest breaking down the problem into known values and formulas, while others express confusion about the relationship between acceleration and speed.

Discussion Status

There is an ongoing exploration of the concept of uniform acceleration, with some participants providing formulas and others questioning the clarity of the explanations. The original poster continues to seek understanding, indicating that further guidance may be necessary.

Contextual Notes

Participants note the importance of understanding fundamental concepts before tackling more complex problems. There is mention of the original poster's struggle with the problem setup and the need for foundational knowledge in physics.

faisal
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hello fellow Physicians, My names Faisal and I'm a a physics student, I'm really stuck on a question :mad: & i could really use u'r help :cool:
Ok
An object with an initial speed of 3m/s begins to accelerate uniformly at 2m/s2. what will b its speed 5s later?

i don't understand what uniform acceleration is?
i really need to know the basics of physics before i can start anything advanced can u physicans recommend a good website?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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faisal said:
hello fellow Physicians, My names Faisal and I'm a a physics student, I'm really stuck on a question :mad: & i could really use u'r help :cool:
Ok
An object with an initial speed of 3m/s begins to accelerate uniformly at 2m/s2. what will b its speed 5s later?

i don't understand what uniform acceleration is?
i really need to know the basics of physics before i can start anything advanced can u physicans recommend a good website?

First of all, write down what you knwo and what you don't:
d (distance) = ?
vi (starting speed) = 3 m/s
vf (final speed) = ?
a (acceleration) = 2 m/s^2
t (time) = 5 s

Now, there are about 5 formulas that relate those 5 values. I can't name them off, but look at it logically: the acceleration is change of speed per second. The change of speed PER SECOND IS TWO, and it lasts FIVE SECONDS. So if you are going 2 faster every second, for 5 seconds, and you start at 3... what do you do?

Still need more help?
 
Velocity/speed is the rate of change of position.
Acceleration measures the rate of change of velocity.
Uniform acceleration ==>acceleration remains constant with time

For your Problem:
Remember these fudamental eqns:
[tex] (i)v=u + at [/tex]

[tex] (ii)v^2=u^2 + 2as [/tex]

[tex] (iii)s=ut+\frac{1}{2}at^2 [/tex]
Try to figure these out yourself
EDIT:where v is final velocity
u is initial velocity
a is acceleration
t is time taken
s is the displacement
 
Last edited:
Poolwin2001,

Do please give constructive answers. By just reciting formula's without defining what is what, you only make it more difficult.

regards
marlon
 
Welcome Faisal ! You should use the specific help forum next time.
Enjoy PF !
 
''An object with an initial speed of 3m/s begins to accelerate uniformly at 2m/s2. wh

i still don't understand the only equation which relates to this question
is accelertaion, this is what i originally worked out 2-3/5=0.68 the answer was obviously wrong.
 
Use v = v_0 + at

v : speed
v_0 initial speed
a : acceleration

so you have v = 3 + 2*5 = 13 m/s
 
faisal said:
i still don't understand the only equation which relates to this question
is accelertaion, this is what i originally worked out 2-3/5=0.68 the answer was obviously wrong.

you have to understand what acceleration is first if you want to understand the problem properly. Dont worrry if you don't get it at first, a LOT of people do not get it until after they work with the concept for about a month. Uniform Acceleration is the rate of change in speed, this means that every time one second passes by, the speed changes uniformly by a margin, it either decreases by that speed or increases. In your case, every second, the speed of the object increases by [tex]2m/s^2[/tex]. You begin at [tex]3m/s^2[/tex] and you travel for 5 seconds. If we break the calculation down we would see the separate speeds at each second:
[tex]V_i = 3m/s[/tex] (no time has passed)
[tex]V_1 = 3m/s + 2m/s[/tex] (1 second has passed)
[tex]V_2 = 3m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s[/tex] (2 seconds have passed)
[tex]V_3 = 3m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s[/tex] (3 seconds have passed)
[tex]V_4 = 3m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s[/tex] (4 seconds have passed)
[tex]V_5 = 3m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s + 2m/s[/tex] (5 seconds have passed)

as you can see, the general pattern for the speed after a time [tex]t[/tex] and at constant acceleration [tex]a[/tex] and an initial speed [tex]V_o[/tex] is:
[tex]V = V_o + at[/tex]

if you still don't understand, try looking up some acceleration problems and try doing them, doing practice probalems is the best way to learn.
 

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