Question

A cheetah can go from a state of resting to running at 20 m/s in just two seconds. What is the cheetah's average acceleration?

Answer 1

A cheetah can go from rest to running at 20m/s in 2 seconds. Plug in 2 for s

20/2

Simplify. Divide.

20/2 = 10

10 meters per second² is your average acceleration

Answer 2

10 m/s^2

Explanation

To solve this, we are using the average acceleration formula:

`a=(v_(f)-v_(i))/(t_(f)-t_(i))`

where

`a` is the average acceleration

`v_(i)` is the initial velocity

`v_(f)` is the final velocity

`t_(i)` is the initial time

`t_(f)` is the final time

Since the cheetah go from state of resting, the initial velocity and time are both zero, so
`v_(i)=0` and
`t_(i)=0`. Now, the cheetah go from resting to 20 m/s in two seconds, so
`v_(f)=(20m)/(s)` and
`t_(f)=2s`.

Now that we have our values, let's replace them in our formula to find
`a`:

`a=((20m)/(s)-0)/(2s-0)`

`a=((20m)/(s))/(2s)`

`a=((20m)/(s))/(2s)`

`a=(20m)/(2s^2)`

`a=(10m)/(s^2)`

The average acceleration of the cheetah is 10 m/s^2