Displacement of 1971 Dodge Challenger: 113m?

  • Thread starter Thread starter ElegantSir
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Motion Physics
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Start your own thread to ask a follow-up.
3 replies · 1K views
ElegantSir
Messages
37
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


"Find the displacement for a 1971 Dodge challenger that achieves a velocity of 112km/h [west], accelerating at 2.7m/s^2 [west] for 3.2 seconds."

v2 = final velocity
d = displacement
a = acceleration
t = time

Homework Equations


The equation I am given is this: d = v2t - 1/2at^2

The Attempt at a Solution


The answer I keep getting is approximately 85.4 but the homework is saying the answer is 113m [west].

This is how I am getting 85.4: d = 31 * 3.2 - 1/2 * 2.7 * 3.2^2
d = 99.2 - 13.8
d = 85.4

Coincidentally if you add instead of subtract both numbers, you get the 113m the question is saying the answer is. Am I right to assume that the homework sheet is incorrect?
 
Physics news on Phys.org
The dodge starts at 112kmph ... from the description, would you say the car is speeding up or slowing down?
Is your answer faster or slower than the starting speed?
 
Simon Bridge said:
The dodge starts at 112kmph ... from the description, would you say the car is speeding up or slowing down?
Is your answer faster or slower than the starting speed?
The car would be speeding up seeing as how their is a constant acceleration. So I would only assume you would end up faster than your starting speed
 
If the car was just going at a constant speed ... how far would it have gone?
Since the car is accelerating, would it go farther or not so far?
 
Last edited: