Question

An Indy-500 race car's velocity increases from +3.5m/s to +36.2m/s over a 7-second period. What is its acceleration in m/s²?"

A) 4.0
B) 4.5
C) 4.7
D) 5.5

Answer 1

The average acceleration of the Indy-500 race car is calculated using the formula for average acceleration as the change in velocity divided by time. The result is approximately 4.7 m/s², which matches answer choice C.

Step-by-step explanation:

To calculate the acceleration of the Indy-500 race car, we can use the formula for average acceleration, which is the change in velocity divided by the time it takes for that change to occur. The formula is:

Acceleration (a) = (Final velocity (v_f) - Initial velocity (v_i)) / Time (t)

In this case, the final velocity (v_f) is +36.2 m/s, the initial velocity (v_i) is +3.5 m/s, and the time (t) is 7 seconds.

Plugging the values into the formula, we get:
Acceleration (a) = (36.2 m/s - 3.5 m/s) / 7 s = 32.7 m/s / 7 s = 4.6714 m/s²

Therefore, the average acceleration of the race car over the 7-second period is approximately 4.7 m/s², which corresponds to answer choice C.