How Long Does It Take for a Father to Catch His Son if He Accelerates from Rest?

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Homework Help Overview

The problem involves a scenario where a boy runs at a constant velocity while his father accelerates from rest to catch him. The subject area pertains to kinematics, specifically analyzing motion with constant velocity and constant acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants discuss the initial conditions of the problem, including the father's acceleration and the boy's constant velocity. Questions are raised about the final velocity of the father and the quantities that will be common when he catches up to his son.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different aspects of the problem, including the relationship between the displacements of the boy and father. Some guidance has been offered regarding writing displacement equations, but no consensus has been reached on the final outcome.

Contextual Notes

There appears to be some confusion regarding the initial velocity of the father and the conditions under which he catches his son. The problem setup includes specific values for velocity and acceleration, but further clarification on these points is still needed.

kencamarador
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A boy is running a a constant velocity of 3.0 m/s [E] and passes his father who is standing still. The father immediately starts to chase his son with a constant acceleration of 1.5m/s at the instant his that his son reachers him

How long does it take the father to catch his son?

Am I correct?

Initial Velocity is 3.0m/s [E]
Average Acceleration is 1.5m/s^2
But what is my V final?
 
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kencamarador said:
A boy is running a a constant velocity of 3.0 m/s [E] and passes his father who is standing still. The father immediately starts to chase his son with a constant acceleration of 1.5m/s at the instant his that his son reachers him

How long does it take the father to catch his son?

Am I correct?

Initial Velocity is 3.0m/s [E]
Average Acceleration is 1.5m/s^2
But what is my V final?

Are you saying the initial velocity of the father is 3.0m/s?

When the father does catch up to the son, what two quantites - v1,v2,a,d or t - will they have in common?
 
There are two different objects moving, boy and father. The boy moves with constant velocity. The father moves with constant acceleration with zero initial velocity. Father catches the son when they are at the same place again, that is the displacements are equal. Write up the displacement of both in terms of time.

ehild
 

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