Question

you are driving at a speed of 27 m/s (about 30 miles per hour) and decide to pass another car. You step on the gas and accelerate past the slower car. After 10 seconds you notice that you are now traveling at 29 m/s (about 65 miles per hour) what was your rate of acceleration

Answer 1

If the acceleration was constant, then it would be the same as the average acceleration over the 10 second interval:

`a=(v-v_0)/(\Delta t)\implies a=(29\,(\mathrm m)/(\mathrm s)-27\,(\mathrm m)/(\mathrm s))/(10\,\mathrm s)=0.20\,(\mathrm m)/(\mathrm s^2)`