Question

An airplane travels for 8s down the runway before taking off. If it starts from rest, moves with constant acceleration and becomes airborne at the speed v=130mph, what is its Acceleration?

Answer 1

The airplane's acceleration, calculated from a final speed of 130 mph or 58.1152 m/s after 8 seconds of constant acceleration from rest, is 7.2644 m/s².

Step-by-step explanation:

The student has asked to calculate the acceleration of an airplane which travels down the runway and takes off at a speed of 130 mph after accelerating for 8 seconds from rest. To convert the take-off speed into meters per second (since acceleration is often measured in m/s2), we use the conversion factor that 1 mph is approximately 0.44704 m/s. Therefore, 130 mph is equivalent to 130 × 0.44704 = 58.1152 m/s.

To find the acceleration (a), we use the kinematic equation v = u + at, where v is the final speed, u is the initial speed (0 m/s, since it is starting from rest), and t is the time elapsed. Plugging in the values, we get 58.1152 m/s = 0 + a × 8 s, which yields an acceleration a = 58.1152 m/s / 8 s = 7.2644 m/s2. Thus, the airplane's acceleration is 7.2644 m/s2.