Constant Acceleration; Dynamics

AI Thread Summary
To calculate the constant acceleration required for a catapult to launch an aircraft at 188 mi/hr over 299 ft, the equation V^2 = 2AD is used. The initial calculation yielded an acceleration of 14232.9518 G's, which is deemed excessively high. The error arose from incorrect unit conversion, specifically from miles per hour squared to feet per second squared. Correctly converting the units involves accounting for the square of the time conversion factor (3600 seconds in an hour). Proper conversion and calculations will yield a more reasonable acceleration value.
allyfranken
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Homework Statement



Problem: Calculate the constant acceleration a in g’s which the catapult of an aircraft carrier must provide to produce a launch velocity of 188 mi/hr in a distance of 299 ft. Assume that the carrier is at anchor.

Homework Equations



V^2 = 2AD

The Attempt at a Solution



Okay so I got an answer of 14232.9518 G's. This seems far too large.
I converted feet to miles first and got 35344 mi^2/hr^2 = 2A(.0566) solving for A I got A = 312,226.1484 mi/hr^2 then converted to G's. What am I doing wrong here?
 
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The problem lies in your conversion from mi/h² to ft/s². They are 3600 seconds in an hour and you have to square it.
 

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