Kinematics problem (one dimension)

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a kinematics problem involving two trains, a red one and a yellow one, that begin braking when they are 800 meters apart. The key questions are whether the trains collide and, if so, when, or if they stop before colliding, what the distance between them is at that point. The velocities of both trains over time are provided in a graph, which is crucial for determining their stopping distances. The yellow train's deceleration is confirmed to be 1.5 m/s², impacting the calculations for both trains' stopping distances.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic kinematics principles, including velocity and acceleration.
  • Familiarity with graph interpretation, specifically velocity-time graphs.
  • Knowledge of calculating distance using the formula: distance = velocity × time.
  • Basic algebra skills for solving equations related to motion.
NEXT STEPS
  • Study the concept of uniform acceleration and its equations of motion.
  • Learn how to analyze velocity-time graphs to determine displacement.
  • Explore the implications of simultaneous braking in collision scenarios.
  • Practice solving similar kinematics problems involving multiple objects in motion.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for high school physics students, educators teaching kinematics, and anyone interested in understanding the principles of motion and collision in one-dimensional scenarios.

Omri
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Hello,

I am a tenth-grader physics student, and I have a mechanics-realted problem you may think is quite trivial, but I have been unsuccessfully trying to solve it for a whole day, so I would thank you if you answered.
Please consider the attached graph; the question relates to it:
Two trains, a red one and a yellow one, travel towards each other on a straight railway-track. When the distance between them is 800 m, the drivers notice the danger and hit the brakes simultaneously. The graph shows their velocity in respect to time from the moment of hitting the brakes, if each train had traveled alone.
(Here there are a couple of pretty eaay questions; I'm skipping right to the problem.)
Did the trains collide into each other? If they did – when did it happen? And if the didn't – what was the distance between them when they stopped?
The other attached image shows my feeble attempts to solve this question.
The last thing I should do about these trains is draw (on the same coordinate system) a schematic displacement-time graph for both trains from t=0 to the moment of stopping/collision.

Thanks for your help!

Attachments:
Image 1 (the calculations) - http://img468.imageshack.us/img468/2295/trains1dy3.jpg
Image 2 (the graph) - http://img157.imageshack.us/img157/200/trains2ab7.jpg

P.S: I just noticed a couple of small alignment problems in Image 1. I'm sorry about them, I think my OpenOffice needs a bit of configuration.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
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You're in tenth grade, so I assume you haven't learned calculus yet?

Also, my computer seems to have cut off the bottom of the graph. Does the red function start at -30?
And what's the scale of the x-axis? How many seconds is each line?
 
You got the deceleration of the yellow train wrong. It equals 45/30 = 1.5 [m/s^2].
 

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