Position Functions for Two Cars Colliding on a Straight Road

  • Thread starter Thread starter Jesper K
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Approach Cars
AI Thread Summary
To determine when and where two cars collide on a straight road, the initial positions and velocities of both cars must be established. Car A starts at position x = 0 and moves towards Car B, which is initially 45m away, thus starting at x = 45m. The position functions for both cars can be derived using their initial velocities and deceleration rates. Car A's position function is x_A(t) = 16t - (1/2)(2)t^2, while Car B's position function is x_B(t) = 45 - 8t - (1/2)(4)t^2. Solving for the time when x_A(t) equals x_B(t) will yield the collision point and time.
Jesper K
Messages
1
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement


Two cars approach each other on a straight road. Car A is moving at 16m/s and car B at 8m/s. When they are 45m apart both drivers apply their brakes. Car A slows down at a rate of 2m/s^2 while car B slows down at 4m/s^2. Where and when do the cars collide?

Homework Equations



-

The Attempt at a Solution


-
I don't really understand this so i would appreacite if someone could help me
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Can you write the position as a function of time for each car? (Let the initial position of Car A be x = 0. What would be the initial position of Car B?)
 

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

Help with question on motion: Avoiding a rear-end collision
Replies
6
Views
3K
Suvat - Two cars approach each other on a straight road
Replies
11
Views
7K
Calculating Separation of Cars in a Convoy Moving at Max Speed
Replies
4
Views
3K
Solving for Car Speed and Stopping Time in a Braking Scenario
Replies
1
Views
6K
Car Crash Analysis: Analyzing Friction & Speed
Replies
9
Views
4K
"How far did the car move while braking?"
Replies
14
Views
2K
Solving Baseballs Colliding with a Car: Find Speed & Position
Replies
5
Views
2K
Reaction time while stopping a car
Replies
29
Views
3K
Setting two expressions equal to each other
Replies
6
Views
2K
Momentum: why don't the two carts become one?
Replies
32
Views
1K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top