How Long Does It Take for a Car to Pass a Truck After Reaching the Speed Limit?

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SUMMARY

The discussion revolves around calculating the time it takes for a car to overtake a truck after reaching the speed limit of 25 m/s. Initially, the car is traveling at 20 m/s and accelerates at 1.8 m/s² until it reaches the speed limit, while the truck moves at a constant speed of 18 m/s. The correct time interval from when the car reaches 25 m/s until it passes the truck is approximately 5.2 seconds, derived from calculating the distances traveled by both vehicles during the acceleration phase and the subsequent overtaking phase.

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  • #31
37.5 m? if the car starts at the origin, then its final position would be 62.5m and the truck starts at 50, its final position would be 100 m
 
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  • #32
Perfect. Now? :)
 
  • #33
im not sure which equation to use.
 
  • #34
Ok you know the distance between the car and truck, and you know their speeds and you need to find the time.

In terms of relative velocity, its just distance = relative velocity*time

But in case you're not familiar with relative velocity, look at it like this. Assume the car takes time T to overtake the truck. It moves a distance 25*T during this. The truck moves a distance 18*T in the meantime. Now, The car should move 37.5 m more than the truck to overtake it.
 

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