okay, I'll explain these equations to you!
The standard notion for this kind of stuff is
v = final velocity
u = initial velocity
s = displacment
a = acceleration
t = time elapsed
These are all vector equations, so these apply for each component of velocity or displacment
The first equation
v=u + at
This tells you that the final velocity is equal to the initial velocity plus a term due to acceleration, which should be expected.
The second equation
s = ut + \frac{1}{2} a t ^2
This equation tells you that the displacement is equal to the initial velocity times time, which again should be expected, plus a term which involves acceleration (once you know yourself some calculus you'll know where the half and the second power come from)
The third equation
v^2=u^2 + 2 a s
Isn't really anything new, it's really just the first two equations
It tells you that the square of the initial velocity is equal to the square of the final velocity plus a term due to acceleration.Now, with what you are told in the question, which of these do you think you should use?
A bowling ball of mass 7.50kg traveling at 10.0 m s-1 rolls off a horizontal table 1.00 m high.
We have an TWO initial velocities here, one is stated explicitly, the other is between the lines, we also have a displacment.
And we're trying to find a final velocity.
Which of these equations do you think will help us with this?
