Need quick help with finding positional equation

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AI Thread Summary
To determine if the tractor and Tesla collide, their positional equations must be established based on their speeds and braking accelerations. The tractor moves at 40.0 km/h and the Tesla at 80.0 km/h, both decelerating at 5.00 m/s². By setting one vehicle's position as a reference point and calculating the time to stop for each, the distance between them can be evaluated. If they do collide, the point of impact and relative speed can be calculated using their equations of motion. If they do not collide, the final distance between them when both come to a stop can be determined.
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Homework Statement


A huge tractor and a Tesla full of school children come driving along a winding
mountain road, in opposite directions. The tractor has a speed of
40.0km/h and the car zooms along with 80.0km/h. The Tesla suddenly comes around a
corner, sees the tractor, and they both immediately start braking, both with
constant accelerations of 5.00m/s^2 (opposite to their directions of motion).
a) If the initial distance between the two is 60.0m, do they hit each other? If
so, where, and with what relative speed on impact? If not, what is the distance
between the two when they both stop?

Homework Equations


x(t)= -a/2*t2 + v*t + x

Dont know how to find the positional equations of the two vehicles and then solve for t to find where they crash.
 
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Pick one of the vehicles as your frame of reference (so its position is always at x=0) and use the combined relative velocities, accelerations, etc. in your equation to calculate the other vehicle's position. See how far that gets you.
 
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