Question

A car travels along a straight line at a constant speed of 60.0 mi/h for a distance d and then another distance d in the same direction at another constant speed. The average velocity for the entire trip is 30.0 mi/h. (a) What is the constant speed with which the car moved during the second distance d

Answer 1

velocity during second d = 20.0 mi/h

Step-by-step explanation:

Total distance travelled is 2d, with an average velocity of 30.0 mi/h you can express the time travelled in terms of d:

distance = velocity * time

time = distance / velocity

time = 2d/30.0

The time needed for the first d at 60.0 is:

time = d/60.0

The time in the second d you can get it by substracting both times (total time - time for the first d)

second d time = 2d/30.0 - d/60.0

= 4d/60.0 - d/60.0

= 3d/60.0

and with the time (3d/60.0) and the distance travelled (d) you can get the velocity:

velocity = distance / time

velocity = d / (3d/60.0)

= 60.0/3 = 20.0 mi/h