Solve equation for d: Rewriting Physics Homework

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Homework Help Overview

This discussion revolves around a physics problem involving an equation that needs to be solved for the variable d. The original poster expresses confusion regarding the manipulation of the equation and discrepancies between their results and those found in a solution manual.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Assumption checking, Problem interpretation

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to expand and manipulate the equation but finds the process complicated and messy. They question the validity of their results compared to the solution manual. Some participants suggest alternative approaches, such as taking the square root of both sides or multiplying by v² to simplify the equation.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants exploring different methods to approach the problem. There is a suggestion to share the solution manual for clarity, and some participants express skepticism about the accuracy of the manual's steps.

Contextual Notes

There is a noted discrepancy between the original poster's calculations and the solution manual, particularly regarding the final term in the equation. The original poster is working under the constraints of a homework assignment, which may limit their approach to the problem.

1MileCrash
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Homework Statement



This is for a physics problem. I need to solve this for d, but I'm not sure how.

Homework Equations





The Attempt at a Solution



I've gotten up to:

[itex]\frac{2d}{g} = (t - \frac{d}{v})^{2}[/itex]

When I multiply the right term out, it becomes a mess, everything I do makes it ugly. What should I try doing?

My main source of confusion is that multiplying that out gives me:

[itex]t^{2} - \frac{2dt}{v} + \frac{d^{2}}{v^{2}}[/itex]

While my solution manual gives the last term as:

(1+v^2)d^2.

Those are not the same. What gives?
 
Last edited:
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If squaring the right hand side makes it too ugly for you, then try taking the square root of both sides. That makes the math a little more challenging,

You could multiply both sides by v2 then square the right hand side. Maybe not quite so ugly.
 
SammyS said:
If squaring the right hand side makes it too ugly for you, then try taking the square root of both sides. That makes the math a little more challenging,

You could multiply both sides by v2 then square the right hand side. Maybe not quite so ugly.

My main problem is that the solution manual I have gives steps that I just don't follow.

They multiply out (t-d/v)^2 and get (1+v^2)d^2 for the last term. I literally haven't the slightest how it comes to that, I just get plain old d^2/v^2.. and they aren't the same.
 
How about scanning that solution & posting the image?
 
Sure thing, gimme a few minutes.
 
http://img585.imageshack.us/img585/5854/physicsstone.png

After "square both sides to obtain.." I don't know how they get that. At all.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
It's just a typo.

It could be (1 ÷ v2) d2

The following lines appear to be correct.
 

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