Police Car Acceleration: Time and Distance to Catch a Speeding Car

In summary, the conversation discusses a police car trying to catch a speeding car. The police car is initially stationary and takes 1.5 seconds to react, while accelerating at a rate of 12m/s/s. The question is how long it will take for the police car to catch the speeding car and how far the police car will have driven. The person asking for help admits to not having the knowledge to solve the problem but others suggest showing an attempt and posting relevant equations. A similar question was recently answered on a forum, providing a starting point for solving the problem.
  • #1
Zashmar
48
0
Gday mates,

Here is my question.

A police car is stationery when a speeding car drives past at 41.66m/s, if it takes the police car 1.5 seconds to react and the police car accelerates at a rate of 12m/s/s then how long will it take until the police car catches the bad guy and how far will the police car have driven?

Yea it is a hard one

Cheers :)
 
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  • #2
Maybe you didn't read the rules of the forum. For homework problems you have show that you have at least given some thought to the problem and make an attempt. If you don't do that a moderator will delete this post soon.
 
  • #3
I have made an attempt but I don't have the knowledge to do it :(
 
  • #4
Zashmar said:
I have made an attempt but I don't have the knowledge to do it :(

Show your attempt. That will allow people to help you finish it.
 
  • #5
Dick said:
Show your attempt. That will allow people to help you finish it.
... and don't forget to post any equations you suspect will be relevant.
 
  • #6
Like others have said you need to follow the rules and post homework questions in the correct format, that's why when you make a post there is 3 sections to fill out.
But I answered a question that is pretty much exactly the same as yours just recently, but with a different set of values and worded with a different situation in the word problem

this should get you started on how to solve this problem.
https://www.physicsforums.com/showthread.php?t=674979
 
  • #7
Thanks for that, I didn't know about this three section thing...
 

What is acceleration?

Acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity over time. It measures how quickly an object's speed is changing.

What is the formula for acceleration?

The formula for acceleration is a = (vf - vi) / t, where a is acceleration, vf is final velocity, vi is initial velocity, and t is time.

What are the units of acceleration?

The units of acceleration are meters per second squared (m/s²) in the metric system and feet per second squared (ft/s²) in the imperial system.

What causes acceleration?

Acceleration is caused by a change in an object's velocity, either in speed or direction. This can be due to a force acting on the object, such as gravity or friction.

How is acceleration different from velocity?

Velocity is the speed and direction of an object's motion, while acceleration is the rate of change of an object's velocity. In other words, velocity tells you how fast an object is moving, while acceleration tells you how quickly that speed is changing.

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