Question

A student does an experiment rolling a cart down a ramp. The cart starts from rest a distance 0.80 meters up the ramp, and 1.5s later the cart has a velocity of 2 m/s. What is the cart's acceleration?

Answer 1

The cart's average acceleration is calculated using the change in velocity over time, which results in an acceleration of 1.33 m/s².

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's experiment involves calculating the cart's acceleration as it rolls down a ramp. To find the acceleration, we use the formula for average acceleration, which is the change in velocity divided by the time taken to change the velocity. In this case, the cart starts from rest and reaches a velocity of 2 m/s in 1.5s.

The formula for acceleration (a) is:
a = ∆v / ∆t
where (∆v) is the change in velocity and (∆t) is the change in time.

Since the cart starts from rest, its initial velocity (vo) is 0 m/s and the final velocity (v) is 2 m/s. The time (t) is 1.5s. Plugging these values into the equation, we get:
a = ∆v / ∆t = (4 m/s - 0 m/s) / (1.5 s) = 2 m/s² / 1.5 s = 1.33 m/s²

Therefore, the average acceleration of the cart is 1.33 m/s².