The Big 5 Problems

1. The Porsche 917/30 Can-Am car (the fastest production model built as of January 1987) can accelerate
from zero to 320 km/h [forward] in 12.6 s and has a recorded top speed of 411 km/h. What is its
acceleration in m/s2?
2. A snow avalanche moving with a velocity of 8.0 m/s undergoes an acceleration of 1.5 m/s 2 for 6.0 s.
What is the final velocity of the avalanche?
3. Jennifer is driving her Honda Civic above the speed limit on a straight level highway when she receives a
warning that a police car is ahead. She decelerates at 5.0 (km/h)/s for 6.0 s to reach a velocity of 100
km/h. How fast is Jennifer going when she receives the warning?
4. Henry drives his tank initially at 14 m/s in a 50 km/h zone. He accelerates at 2.0 m/s 2 to a final velocity
of 28 m/s. How long does it take the tank to reach the final velocity?
5. The burning of the second engine of a two-stage toy rocket accelerates the rocket from 60 km/h [up] to
145 km/h [up] in 5.0 s. Calculate the average acceleration of the rocket in (km/h)/s.
6. In the 74 s after lift-off, the shuttle Challenger travels 36 km. Assuming constant acceleration, calculate
a) the acceleration of the shuttle in m/s2.
b) the speed of the shuttle in km/h after 74 s.
7. Bill takes his brother’s car out for a joy ride and steps on the gas; the car accelerates at 0.8 m/s 2 from a
rest position. How far away is he when his brother notices the car gone 30s later?
8. Bill borrows his Dad’s plane and starts down the runway at 2 m/s accelerating at 1.5 m/s 2. He accelerates
for 1 min before the plane takes off. Can Bill take off if the runway is only 2500 m or does he crash?
9. Later that day when Bill returns his brother’s car, he drives up the driveway at 12 m/s and slams on the
brakes, decelerating at 1.2 m/s2. If the garage is 59 m away, does he hit or stop in time?

Answers: 1) 7.05 m/s2, 2) 17 m/s, 3) 130 km/h, 4) 7 s, 5) 17 km/h/s, 6) a) 13 m/s2, b) 3.5 x 103 km/h, 7)
360 m, 8) he crashes (he requires 2820 m), 9) he hits (he requires 60 m to stop)