How Do You Calculate the Constants A and C for a Rocket's Trajectory Equation?

AI Thread Summary
To calculate the constants A and C for a rocket's trajectory, the position coordinates are defined as x(t)=A+Bt^2 and y(t)=C+Dt^3, with known acceleration values. After deriving the position equations, it was determined that D equals 0.500 m/s^3 and B equals 2.00 m/s^2. The initial height of the rocket, given as 50.0 m, indicates that C should be set to 50.0 m. A represents the initial horizontal position, which needs to be determined based on the context of the problem. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding initial conditions to solve for A and C accurately.
azn4lyf89
Messages
17
Reaction score
0
A rocket is fired at an angle from the top of a tower of height 50.0m. Because of the designs of its engines, its position coordinates are of the form x(t)=A+Bt^2 and y(t)=C+Dt^3, where A, B, C, and D are constants. The acceleration of the rocket after 1.00s after firing is a= (4.00i+3.00j)m/s^2. Find the constants A, B, C, and D including their SI units.

I took the derivative of the position vectors twice to get the acceleration vector and plugged in 1.00s into t to find D=0.500m/s^3 and B=2.00m/s^2. I am stuck on where to go after that to get A and C.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
azn4lyf89 said:
A rocket is fired at an angle from the top of a tower of height 50.0m. Because of the designs of its engines, its position coordinates are of the form x(t)=A+Bt^2 and y(t)=C+Dt^3, where A, B, C, and D are constants. The acceleration of the rocket after 1.00s after firing is a= (4.00i+3.00j)m/s^2. Find the constants A, B, C, and D including their SI units.

I took the derivative of the position vectors twice to get the acceleration vector and plugged in 1.00s into t to find D=0.500m/s^3 and B=2.00m/s^2. I am stuck on where to go after that to get A and C.

What is C. Wasn't it given to you? What is A then? Remember the equation describes position. Where was its initial position?
 
I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'
Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
Back
Top