Question

A car is traveling North at 17.0 m/s. After 12 s, its velocity is 14.0m/s in the same direction. What is the car's acceleration during this time?

Answer 1

To calculate the car's acceleration during this time interval, we can use the formula:

acceleration (a) = (final velocity (v_f) - initial velocity (v_i)) / time (t)

Given: Initial velocity (v_i) = 17.0 m/s Final velocity (v_f) = 14.0 m/s Time (t) = 12 s

Using the formula, we can substitute the given values:

acceleration (a) = (14.0 m/s - 17.0 m/s) / 12 s

Simplifying the equation:

acceleration (a) = (-3.0 m/s) / 12 s

acceleration (a) = -0.25 m/s²

Therefore, the car's acceleration during this time interval is -0.25 m/s² (southward direction). The negative sign indicates that the car is decelerating or slowing down.