How Long Will It Take the Car to Catch the Truck?

AI Thread Summary
The problem involves a car traveling at 187 km/h trying to catch a truck moving at 71 km/h, with the truck initially 150 meters ahead. The correct approach to find the time it takes for the car to catch the truck is to calculate the relative speed, which is 16 km/h or approximately 4.4 m/s. By dividing the distance (150 m) by the relative speed (4.4 m/s), the time is determined to be around 34 seconds. The initial calculations were incorrect due to a misunderstanding of the formula. The final answer confirms that it takes approximately 34 seconds for the car to catch the truck.
colin_delecia
Messages
4
Reaction score
0
A car moving at 187km/h is behind a truck that's moving at 71km/h and is 150m ahead of the car

How long will it take the car to catch the truck ?

I'm literally in 2 lectures in my physics 101 class but I figure it would be cool to take a shot at the problem. This is what I did...


87km/h - 71km/h = 16km/h

16km/h = 4.4m/s

4.4m/s = 150 / t

t * 4.4m/s = 150
t = 150 - 4.4m/s
t = 146s

Well I checked it on masteringphysics h.w site and it was wrong...can't think of anything else.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
colin_delecia said:
A car moving at 187km/h is behind a truck that's moving at 71km/h and is 150m ahead of the car

How long will it take the car to catch the truck ?

I'm literally in 2 lectures in my physics 101 class but I figure it would be cool to take a shot at the problem. This is what I did...


87km/h - 71km/h = 16km/h

16km/h = 4.4m/s

4.4m/s = 150 / t

t * 4.4m/s = 150
t = 150 - 4.4m/s
t = 146s[/color]

Well I checked it on masteringphysics h.w site and it was wrong...can't think of anything else.

See red region.Do you got the point? Answer should around 38 seconds.
 
yea, 34s. I was supposed to do 150m / 4.4m/s. thanks
 

Thread 'Errors and significant figures'

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...
View full post »
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

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...
View full post »

Similar threads

How Long Does It Take a Car to Overtake a Truck?
Replies
25
Views
3K
Calculating Time for Car to Catch Up to Truck
Replies
2
Views
4K
How long does it take for the car to catch up to the truck on a straight track?
Replies
19
Views
2K
Kinematics: Motion in One Direction: Car Chase
Replies
9
Views
3K
How long it takes for a car to catch a truck
Replies
6
Views
5K
Projectile Motion: time it takes for projectile to hit truck
Replies
15
Views
3K
Finding how long it takes for a_t to equal a_c
Replies
3
Views
4K
How Long Will It Take for the Car to Collide with the Truck?
Replies
3
Views
2K
Applying Relative Motion to One Dimensional Motion Equations
Replies
1
Views
1K
How Long Does It Take for a Police Car to Catch a Speeder?
Replies
3
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top