Question

A car approaches a stop sign going 10 m/s before coming to a stop. If it takes 5 seconds to

do this, what is its acceleration

Answer 1

The acceleration is: a = -2 m/s²

The negative sign indicates that velocity is decreasing with time.

Explanation:

Given

• Initial velocity u = 10 m/s

• Final velocity v = 0

• Time taken t = 5 seconds

To determine

Acceleration a = ?

Using the formula to determine the acceleration

a = (v - u) / t

substituting u = 10 m/s, v = 0 and t = 5

a = (0 - 10) / 5

a = -10 / 5

a = -2 m/s²

Thus,

The acceleration is: a = -2 m/s²

The negative sign indicates that velocity is decreasing with time.