Question

An Olympic-class sprinter starts a race with an acceleration of 4.50 m/s². What is her speed 2.40 s later?

a) 10.8 m/s
b) 9.0 m/s
c) 10.8 m/s
d) 9.0 m/s

Answer 1

Using the formula for constant acceleration, the speed of an Olympic-class sprinter after 2.40 seconds with an acceleration of 4.50 m/s² is found to be 10.8 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

An Olympic-class sprinter starts a race with an acceleration of 4.50 m/s². To find the sprinter's speed after 2.40 seconds, we use the formula for constant acceleration, which is:

v = u + at

Here, v is the final velocity, u is the initial velocity (which is 0 m/s since the sprinter starts from rest), a is the acceleration, and t is the time. Plugging in the values we get:

v = 0 + (4.50 m/s²)(2.40 s) = 10.8 m/s

This calculation indicates that the sprinter's speed 2.40 seconds later is 10.8 m/s, which corresponds to option (a) and (c) in the multiple-choice options provided.