Question

Ms. Stafford wants to try racing with a push start. A student pushes her at 5 m/s before the rocket kicks in. The rocket still only accelerates her at a rate of 4 m/s/s. Calculate how many meters she travels in 7 seconds after the rocket kicks in.

Answer 1

The initial velocity of Ms. Stafford is
`v_0 = 5 m/s`, while her acceleration is

`a=4 m/s^2`
This is a uniform accelerated motion, so we can calculate the total distance travelled by Ms. Stafford in a time of
`t=7.0 s` using the law of motion for a uniform accelerated motion:

`S=v_0t + (1)/(2) at^2 = (5 m/s)(7.0 s)+ (1)/(2)(2 m/s^2)(7.0 s)^2 = 84 m`