Newtonian Mechanics - single particle

McHead36
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Homework Statement


The speed of a particle of mass [m] varies with the distance[x] as v(x)=ax^(-n). Assume v(x=0)=0 at t=0.
a)Find the force F(x) responsible
b)Determine x(t)
c)Determine F(t)

Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution


My solution to part a is F(x)=-ma^2nx^(-2n-1).

Homework Statement


Homework Equations


The Attempt at a Solution

 
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F=m(dv/dt), not what you did.
 
Thats how i got to my answer for part a. I started with that and solved it to get F(x)=-ma^2nx^(-2n-1). This answer was also in the back of my book. I am stuck on part b and c.
 
The a in your first formula is not the acceleration.
It is just an arbitrary constant.
 
I know this already too. I put in "a" because I don't have a way to put in alpha.
 
To solve this, I first used the units to work out that a= m* a/m, i.e. t=z/λ. This would allow you to determine the time duration within an interval section by section and then add this to the previous ones to obtain the age of the respective layer. However, this would require a constant thickness per year for each interval. However, since this is most likely not the case, my next consideration was that the age must be the integral of a 1/λ(z) function, which I cannot model.
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