Question

An airplane accelerates from a speed of 88m/s to a speed of 132 m/s during a 15 second time interval. How far did the airplane travel during the time interval?

Answer 1

`1650\:\mathrm{m}`

Step-by-step explanation:

We can use the following kinematics equations to solve this problem:

`v_f=v_i+at,\\{v_f}^2={v_i}^2+2a\Delta x`.

Using the first one to solve for acceleration:

`132=88+a(15),\\15a=44,\\a=(44)/(15)=2.9\bar{3}\:\mathrm{m/s^2}`.

Now we can use the second equation to solve for the distance travelled by the airplane:

`132^2=88^2+2\cdot2.9\bar{3}\cdot \Delta x,\\\Delta x= \frac{9680}{2\cdot2.9\bar{3}},\\\Delta x =\fbox{$ 1650\:\mathrm{m}$}`(three significant figures).