Question

A 1,500 lb dragster accelerates from zero to 250mi/hr in 5s. What is the acceleration in ft/s^2?

Answer 1

We know that the acceleration is defined as:

`a=(v_f-v_0)/(t)`

in this case we know the initial velocity (zero) the final velocity (250mi/h) and the time it takes to accelerate. Before we can use this formula we need to convert the final velocity to feet per second, then :

`250(mi)/(h)\cdot\frac{1\text{ h}}{3600\text{ s}}\cdot\frac{5280\text{ ft}}{1\text{ mi}}=366.667(ft)/(s)`

Now that we know this we can plug the values in the formula for the acceleration:

`a=(366.667-0)/(5)=73.33`

Therefore the acceleration is 73.33 ft per second per second.