Question

" If a Gary the snail, with an initial speed of 10 m/s and speeds up to a final

speed of 50 m/s after 3 seconds, what will his acceleration be westward?"

Answer 1

Gary the Snail's westward acceleration is calculated using the change in velocity, 40 m/s, over the time period, 3 seconds, resulting in an acceleration of 13.33 m/s² due west.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate Gary the Snail's acceleration, we use the formula:

Acceleration (a) = (Final Velocity (Vf) - Initial Velocity (Vi)) / Time (t)

Given that Gary's initial speed is 10 m/s and his final speed is 50 m/s, and the time taken to change the speed is 3 seconds, we plug the values into the formula:

a = (50 m/s - 10 m/s) / 3 s

a = (40 m/s) / 3 s

a = 13.33 m/s²

As Gary is accelerating westward, his acceleration is 13.33 m/s² due west. The negative sign conventionally indicates the westward direction in physics, so this can be designated as -13.33 m/s² to specify the direction accurately.

The magnitude of the average acceleration is significant, as a similar magnitude is discussed in the comparison with the racehorse example, which indicates a strong force would be needed to hang onto something accelerating at such a rate.