Question

A traveling at 35 m/s increases its speed to 40 m/s in 5 seconds in order to make a lane change.

What is the car's acceleration

Answer 1

The acceleration of the car was one meter per second squared.

Step-by-step explanation:

We can use one of the kinematic equations:

`\displaystyle v_f = v_i + at`

Where v_f is the final velocity, v_i is the initial velocity, a is the acceleration, and t is the time (in seconds).

The final velocity is 40 m/s, the initial velocity is 35 m/s, and the time is 5 s. Substitute and solve for a:

`\displaystyle \begin{aligned}(40 \text{ m/s}) &= (35 \text{ m/s}) + a(5\text{ s}) \\ \\ 5 \text{ m/s} &= a(5\text{ s}) \\ \\ a &= 1\text{ m/s$^2$} \end{aligned}`

In conclusion, the acceleration of the car was one meter per second squared.