Deriving Rocket's position from acceleration.

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a physics problem related to deriving the position of a missile from its acceleration. The problem provides specific acceleration equations and initial velocity values, asking for the missile's displacement after ten seconds.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss integrating the acceleration equations to find position functions for both axes. Questions are raised about the units of distance and time used in the equations, and there is an exploration of potential discrepancies in the acceleration values provided.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with the problem, questioning the assumptions regarding the acceleration values and units. Some have provided calculations based on their interpretations, but there is no consensus on the correct approach or outcome yet.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of potential errors in the problem statement, particularly regarding the acceleration values, and the need to ensure consistent units throughout the calculations.

ShizukaSm
Messages
85
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


There's a short introduction saying that honing missiles can determine their position by utilizing their acceleration, then the problem says: Suppose that the missile's acceleration obeys the following equations:
[tex] \\<br /> a_x = 0.8\\<br /> a_y = -6.0 - 3.0t[/tex]
Knowing that, in [itex]t = 0[/itex], [itex]v_x = 600 km/h[/itex] and [itex]v_y = 0[/itex], calculate the missile's displacement in ten seconds. (Answer is 2.2km)

Homework Equations



Just the equations already provided.

The Attempt at a Solution


Alright, so, what I tried to do was integrating the acceleration two consecutive times to arrive at an equation for x(t) and y(t), which gave me:
[tex] \\<br /> x(t) = 0.4 t^2 + 600t + x_o\\<br /> y(t) = \frac{-1}{2}t^3 - 3t^2 + y_0[/tex]

Then I attempted to get the displacement of both axes(Using time = 1/360h, since I have to convert 10 seconds to hours):
[tex] \\<br /> x(10)-x(0) = 1.67km\\<br /> y(10)-y(0) = -2.3*10^{-5} km[/tex]
And then, by calculating[itex]sqrt(x^2 + y^2)[/itex]I obviously get pretty much 1.67km, which is wrong.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
ShizukaSm said:
[tex] \\<br /> a_x = 0.8\\<br /> a_y = -6.0 - 3.0t[/tex]
What are the units of distance and time in those equations?
 
haruspex said:
What are the units of distance and time in those equations?

That's a great question. I just realized it says in parenthesis (SI Units), so m/s. In other words, I shouldn't convert time to seconds, I should convert km/h to m/s. However, by converting 600 km/h to 166.67 m/s and doing the necessary calculations I still obtain only 1884.26 m(With x =1706 and y = -800) : S
 
ax = 0.8 looks suspicious. Why so much less than ay? If you make it 8.0 you get the book answer.
 
haruspex said:
ax = 0.8 looks suspicious. Why so much less than ay? If you make it 8.0 you get the book answer.

Wow, you're absolutely right! Wonderful! Thanks.

It definitely says 0.8 and It's actually an online list of exercises, not a textbook, so I find very possible that the person that typed it made a mistake.
 

Similar threads

Replies
12
Views
1K
Replies
13
Views
6K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
1K
  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
927
Replies
5
Views
1K
Replies
10
Views
2K
Replies
13
Views
2K
  • · Replies 4 ·
Replies
4
Views
2K
  • · Replies 38 ·
2
Replies
38
Views
4K
  • · Replies 10 ·
Replies
10
Views
2K