Acceleration Problem: Calculating Time Difference for Porsche vs. Honda 400 Race

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a race between a Porsche and a Honda, focusing on their accelerations and the impact of a head start. The problem involves calculating the time difference between the two cars over a distance of 400 units, given their respective accelerations.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the use of a kinematic equation to determine the time taken by each car, with one participant mentioning their attempts to find the correct answer and listing previous submissions.

Discussion Status

Some guidance has been offered regarding the application of a specific formula to calculate the time for both cars. However, there is no explicit consensus on the correct approach or solution yet, as participants continue to explore different interpretations and calculations.

Contextual Notes

Participants are constrained by a limited number of attempts for their homework submission, which adds pressure to find the correct answer quickly.

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A Porsche challenges a Honda to a 400 race. Because the Porsche's acceleration of 3.5 is larger than the Honda's 3.0 , the Honda gets a 50 head start. Assume, somewhat unrealistically, that both cars can maintain these accelerations the entire distance.

By how much time does the winner win?
 
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What have you tried?
 
Pretty much everything I could think of. We have online homework and we have to submit the answer and we only have 6 attempts.. and I'm down to two. The answers I have submitted already are: 2.39, 1.5, .85, and .11
 
Well if you're using this formula:

[tex]x = v_0t + \frac{1}{2}at^2[/tex]

Then, you should get the right answer. The only unknown in that formula is the time, which is what you are after. Simply do that for both cars and compare their times.
 

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