Finding Acceleration Given Distance and Final Speed

[aprymek]

1. A pitcher uses 3.5m to accelerate a baseball before release. Find the average acceleration of a ball starting at zero m/s and traveling 41m/s at release

Thanks in advance. I'm lost with what I need to do.

 

[tiny-tim]

Welcome to PF!

Hi aprymek! Welcome to PF!

Assume a constant acceleration …

you know the initital and final speed, and the distance, so which formula should you use?

 

[nlightner]

I can help you understand how to find the average acceleration in this scenario. Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity, which can be calculated by dividing the change in velocity by the change in time. In this case, we are given the distance and final speed, but we need to find the time and use it to calculate the acceleration.

To start, we can use the equation for average speed, which is distance divided by time. In this case, the distance is 3.5m and the final speed is 41m/s. So, we can write the equation as 41m/s = 3.5m/t. To find the time, we can rearrange the equation to t = 3.5m/41m/s, which gives us a time of 0.085 seconds.

Now that we have the time, we can use the equation for acceleration, which is change in velocity divided by change in time. In this case, the change in velocity is from 0m/s to 41m/s, which is a change of 41m/s. So, the acceleration can be calculated as 41m/s divided by 0.085 seconds, which gives us an average acceleration of 482.35 m/s^2.

I hope this explanation helps you understand how to find the average acceleration in this scenario. Remember to always use the appropriate equations and units when solving scientific problems.