Key PS 1 (2012/13)

Saturday, September 08, 2012

9:19 AM
AP Physics C
Problem Set 1: Velocity & Acceleration
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A rocket carrying a satellite is accelerating straight up from the earths surface. The rocket clears the top of its launch platform, 47 m above ground, 1.35 s after lift-off. After an additional 4.45 s it is
1.00 km above the ground. Calculate the magnitude of the average velocity of the rocket for (a) the 4.45-s part of its flight; (b) the first 5.80 s of its flight.
A car is traveling in a straight line along a road. Its position relative to a stop sign is given as a function of time t by the equation: x = (1.80 m/s2 )t2 + (0.250 m/s3 )t3 . Calculate the average velocity of
the car for the following time intervals: (a) t = 0 to t = 2.00 s (b) t = 0 to t = 4.00.
Two runners start simultaneously from the same point on a circular 200-m track and run in the same direction. One runs at a constant speed of 6.20 m/s and the other at a constant speed of 5.50
m/s. When will the fast one overtake (lap) the slower one and how far from the starting point will each have run?
A car starts from rest with an acceleration of 0.40 m/s2 . One minute later the acceleration stops, and the car continues at constant velocity for 5.0 min. The cars brakes are thenapplied, and the car
comes to rest in 2.0 min with a uniform deceleration. What is the total distance traveled by the car?
The police officer in a highway patrol car notices a car pass by at a constant speed of 144 km/h. The officer decides to catch the car. If the time taken for him to start his car and be on his chase is
7.5 s, and the maximum uniform acceleration his car can support is 8.0 m/s2, how long will it take the officer to catch the speeding car after he is on his way? (Assume that the police car starts from
rest and that the two cars move along a straight road.)
A stunt motorcycle driver in a movie scene, starting from rest, accelerates at a constant acceleration 2.0 m/s2 for 4.0 s, then very quickly increases it to 4.0 m/s2 and holds it constant for the next 12.0
s. What is his approximate average acceleration over the first 8.0 s of motion?
A car starts from rest and accelerates uniformly at 2.5 m/s2 for 20.0 s, travels with constant speed for 10.0 minutes, and finally decelerates at 5.0 m/s2 until it stops. (a) How much total distance
does it travel from the start to the end? (b) What is the average speed of the car during the entire period?
Large cockroaches can run as fast as 1.50 m/s in short bursts. Suppose you turn on the light in a cheap motel and see one scurrying directly away from you at a constant 1.50 m/s as you move
toward it at 0.80 m/s. If you start 0.90 m behind it, what minimum constant acceleration would you need to catch up with it when it has traveled 1.20 m, just short of safety under a counter?
A student is running at her top speed of 5.0 m/s to catch a bus, which is stopped at the bus stop. When the student is still 40.0 m from the bus, it starts to pull away, moving with a constant
acceleration of 0.170 m/s2. (a) For how much time and what distance does the student have to run at 5.0 m/s before she overtakes the bus? (b) When shereaches the bus, how fast is the bus
traveling? (c) Sketch and x-t graph for both the student and the bus on the same axis. (d) If the students top speed is 3.5 m/s, will she catch the bus?(e) What is the minimum speed the student
must have to just catch the bus? For what time and what distance does she have to run in that case?

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