Case Between Two Passing Cars

TszHin

Hey there! I was hoping to get some help on this question, im not quite sure what im suppose to do! :(

Question: Consider the problem of the passing of one car by another. Assume that one car is moving at constant velocity, and the second car, the passer, has an initial velocity less then that of the other car. Assume that the power (P) of the passer is fixed, and therefore the (maximum) force applied by the engine is P/|Vpasser| (why?). What are the motions of the cars?

Im not exactly sure what this question wants me to do! help would be much appreciated! :)

Doc Al

What's the definition of power? Start there.

tiny-tim

Hey TszHin! Welcome to PF!

Quote by TszHin

… Assume that the power (P) of the passer is fixed, and therefore the (maximum) force applied by the engine is P/|Vpasser| (why?). What are the motions of the cars?

Im not exactly sure what this question wants me to do!

the force is not constant, it depends on the speed

so the acceleration won't be constant … so what will the graph look like?

(and power = energy per time = force x distance per time = force x speed)

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