Question

You and your friends decide that it would be fun to push a rusty old mining cart down a track. If you push it at 3.1 m/s and friction causes it to accelerate at -0.3 m/s², how long will it roll before it stops?

Answer 1

Therefore, the rusty old mining cart will roll for approximately 10.33 seconds before it comes to a stop due to friction!

Step-by-step explanation:

To determine how long the rusty old mining cart will roll before it stops, we can use the equation of motion for uniformly accelerated motion:

v = u + at

Where:

- v is the final velocity (0 m/s, as the cart stops)

- u is the initial velocity (3.1 m/s, the speed at which the cart is pushed)

- a is the acceleration (-0.3 m/s², caused by friction)

- t is the time it takes for the cart to stop

To find the time (t), we rearrange the equation:

t = (v - u) / a

Substituting the given values:

t = (0 - 3.1) / -0.3

Simplifying this expression:

t = -3.1 / -0.3

t ≈ 10.33 seconds