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. A truck on a straight road starts from rest, accelerating at 2 m/s2 until it reaches a speed of 20 m/s. Then the truck travels for 20 s at constant speed until the brakes applied, are stopping the truck in a uniform manner in an additional 5 s. (a) how long is the truck in motion? (b) What is the average speed of the truck for the motion described?

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Final answer:

The truck is in motion for a total of 35 seconds. The average speed of the truck is 14.29 m/s.

Step-by-step explanation:

The truck is in motion for the duration of the acceleration phase, the constant speed phase, and the braking phase. Let's calculate the time for each phase:

  1. Acceleration Phase: To find the time taken during the acceleration phase, we can use the equation v = u + at, where v is the final velocity (20 m/s), u is the initial velocity (0 m/s), a is the acceleration (2 m/s²), and t is the time taken. Rearranging the equation, we have t = (v - u) / a. Substituting the values, we get t = (20 - 0) / 2 = 10 seconds.
  2. Constant Speed Phase: The truck travels for 20 seconds at a constant speed, so the time taken for this phase is 20 seconds.
  3. Braking Phase: The truck stops in an additional 5 seconds.

To calculate the average speed, we need to find the total distance traveled by the truck. During the acceleration phase, the distance traveled can be found using the equation

s = ut + (1/2)at²,

where s is the distance traveled, u is the initial velocity, t is the time taken, and a is the acceleration.

Substituting the values, we get

s = 0 + (1/2)(2)(10)² = 100 meters.

During the constant speed phase, the distance traveled is speed multiplied by time, which is 20 m/s × 20 s = 400 meters.

During the braking phase, the truck comes to a stop, so the distance traveled is 0 meters. Therefore, the total distance traveled is 100 + 400 + 0 = 500 meters.

The average speed is given by total distance divided by total time.

The total time is the sum of the times taken during each phase, which is 10 s + 20 s + 5 s = 35 seconds.

Therefore, the average speed is 500 m / 35 s = 14.29 m/s.

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