Question

A space vehicle deploys its re–entry parachute when it's traveling at a vertical velocity of –150 meters/second (negative because the parachute is going down.) It comes to rest at 0 meters/second after 30 seconds. What's the average acceleration of the shuttle during this time span?

Answer 1

`a=5m/s^2`

Step-by-step explanation:

Aceleration is a change on the velocity of the object in a given time.

For this case: the initial velocity is

`v_(1)=150m/s`

and the final velocity is :

`v_(2)=0 m/s`

so, the change in velocity is:

`\Delta v =v_(2)-v_(1)=0m/s - (-150m/s) =  150 m/s`

and the change in time , according to the problem:

`\Delta t=30s`

So, the aceleration is:

`a=(\Delta v)/(\Delta t) = (150m/s)/(30s) = 5m/s^2`