I don't understand acceleration....

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around understanding acceleration in the context of a particle accelerator, specifically addressing a scenario where an electron's velocity is said to need to reach 200 m/s within a certain timeframe. Participants are exploring the implications of this velocity and the calculations related to acceleration.

Discussion Character

  • Conceptual clarification, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • Participants are attempting to calculate the required acceleration based on the given velocity and time, while questioning the validity of the initial velocity value. Some are suggesting that the velocity seems unusually low for a particle accelerator.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants providing insights into the definitions of velocity and acceleration. There is a recognition of potential confusion regarding the initial parameters, and some participants are suggesting re-evaluating the given values.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted discrepancy regarding the time unit, as one participant clarifies that "3m" refers to 3 meters rather than 3 minutes, which may affect the calculations and assumptions being made.

Robloxian642
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Homework Statement
The problem says an election is accelerated in a particle accelerator to 200m/s in 3 minutes. What is the electrons acceleration
Relevant Equations
a = vf - vo / t
So the teacher said that acceleration was the rate of change for velocity

so in 3 minutes the velocity of the election needs to go to 200m/s

so i used the formula and I found that every minute the electron needs to accelerate at 66.7m/s2 to reach 200m/s in 3 minutes

and for each second it needs to accelerate at 1.11m/s2 to reach 200m/s in 3 minutes

the answer says that every second it needs to go 6667m/s2, I am very confused please help me
 
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I think that ##200m/s## is a bit slow for a particle accelerator! Maybe check that number.
 
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PeroK said:
I think that ##200m/s## is a bit slow for a particle accelerator! Maybe check that number.
it says 200m/s on my sheet
 
Robloxian642 said:
it says 200m/s on my sheet
Particle accelerators generally get particles close to the speed of light!
 
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One thing you could do is take the given answer and find the correct speed.
 
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It turns out that 3m was actually 3 meters not 3 minutes
 
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Velocity is change in position per unit time. Change in position is called displacement. An object moves from position x0 to x1 from t0 to t1. Its velocity is ##v=\frac{x_1 - x_0}{t_1 - t_0}##. Intuitively, if you take t1 very close to t0, then you get the instantaneous velocity at t0. Take the derivative to find the the instantaneous velocity.

Similarly, acceleration is change in velocity per time ##a = \frac{v_1 - v_0}{t_1 - t_0}##. Taking t1 close to t0 gives the instantaneous acceleration at t0.
 
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