Question

A speeding car traveling at 24.8 m/s passes a police car that is at rest. The police car begins its pursuit at the instant the speeding car passes and maintains a constant acceleration. (a) What acceleration is required for the police car to overtake the speeding car in 897 m?

Answer 1

the acceleration required is 1.37m/s^2

Step-by-step explanation:

The car is having a constant velocity movement, so if we calculate the time to reach 897m, we can use it to find the acceleration the policeman need to apply to reach the car.

`x=v*t\\t=(x)/(v)\\t=(897m)/(24.8m/s)\\t=36.17s`

the policeman is traveling with a constant acceleration starting from rest so:

`x=(1)/(2)*a*t^2\\\\a=(2*x)/(t^2)\\\\a=1.37 m/s2`