Constant acceleration question

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves calculating the constant acceleration required for an interstellar ship to reach a speed of 0.51 times the speed of light (0.51C) over a period of three days, starting from rest. The subject area pertains to kinematics and acceleration in physics.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Mathematical reasoning

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to calculate acceleration using the formula for constant acceleration and provides their calculations. Some participants question the accuracy of the time conversion and the speed value used in the calculations. Others seek clarification on the numbers presented and the approach taken.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing feedback on the calculations and pointing out potential errors in the original post. There is a collaborative effort to clarify the approach and ensure the correct values are being used, but no consensus has been reached on the final method or solution.

Contextual Notes

Participants are addressing discrepancies in the time conversion from days to hours and the speed value, indicating that assumptions about these values may need to be revisited. The original poster expresses uncertainty about their approach and calculations.

DawnJohn
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Homework Statement


An interstlear ship has a mass of 8.97 kg x10^6 and is initially at rest to a star system. What constant acceleration is needed to bring the ship up to a speed of 0.51C, relative to the star system in three days.

Homework Equations



constant acceleration = v2-v1/t2-t1

The Attempt at a Solution



a=1.5x10^7/1.3 x 10^5
a=120 m/s^2?

Help!
 
Last edited:
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Can you show how you got the numbers you used?
 
Constant acceleration numbers...

the numbers I used were:

Time is 3 days (posted in question)=36 hours=2160 minutes = 129 600 or 1.3 x 10^5
Speed is .051c (c=3.0 x 10^8) .051 x 3.0 = 1.5 x10 ^7

I'm not sure if this is the correct way to be approaching this question? Any help would be greatly appreciated=)
 
Done right, but with a lot of mistakes. Check your math:

3 days =/= 36 hours.
 
OK, in your original post you have it as 0.51c so I didn't get the same number. Also, there are 24 hrs in a day, not 12. So it would be 72 hrs for 3 days.
 
Oops, I've been doing this way to long...thanks for pointing that out, I think my brain is turning to mush! I'll try again, thanks for your help!
 

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