2

Motion in a Straight Line 2.1

Motion in a straight line

Exercises
Section 2.1 Average Motion
13. Interpret We need to find average speed, given distance and time.
Develop Speed is distance divided by time.
Evaluate
Assess His time is about 10 seconds, so his speed is about 10 m/s.
14. Interpret We need to find average speed, given distance and time.
Develop The Olympic marathon distance is 42,186 m. We convert her time to seconds, and use to
find her speed.
Evaluate

Assess To check our answer we can convert this speed to mph, and see if it’s reasonable for a
distance of about 26 miles in about 2.5 hours.
15. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem, and we identify the bicyclist as the object
of interest. His trip consists of two parts (out and back), and we are asked to compute the
displacement and average velocity of each part, as well as for the trip as a whole.
Develop For motion in a straight line, the displacement, or the net change in position, iswhere x1 and
x2 are the starting and the end points, respectively. The average velocity is the displacement
divided by the time interval,as shown in Equation 2.1. In our coordinate system, we take north to
be +x.
Evaluate (a) The displacement at the end of the first 2.5 h is

(b) With the average velocity over this interval is

(c) Withthe average velocity for the homeward leg of the trip is

(d) Since the final position of the bicyclist is the same as his initial position, his total displacement
of the trip is

(e) Sincethe average velocity for the entire trip is

Assess Note the distinction between average velocity and average speed. The former depends only
on the net displacement, while the latter takes into consideration the total distance traveled. The
average speed for this trip is
2.2 Chapter 2

16. Interpret We must find the time it takes for a radio signal to travel a given distance.
Develop Radio waves travel at a constant speed ofm/s. We know that the distance is
so we can use the definition of speed, to calculate the time.
Evaluate We can convert this to a more
conveniently sized unit if we wish:

Assess This may seem like a long time, but the solar system is a big place.
17. Interpret We need to find average speed, given distance and time.
Develop We’re given distance in units of meters and kilometers, so we’ll convert everything to
meters before finding the total distance. The time is given in hours, minutes, and seconds, so we’ll
convert it to seconds. Then useto find the average speed.
Evaluate

Assess This is faster than Olympic marathon speed (see Exercise 2.14) because of the time spent
on a bike.
18. (a) Since it takes 1 y for the Earth to travel the full circumference of its nearly circular orbit, km/s
(an easily remembered figure).
(b) (about 10 times the speed of light).
4

19. Interpret We interpret this as a problem involving the conversion of distance and time to different
units.
Develop We shall use the following conversion factors to change from meters to miles and from
seconds to hours:

Evaluate Using the conversion factors above, we obtain

Assess If you drive down the road at a speed of 22 mi/h, your car would move about 10 m in one
second.
20. With an average speed equal to the highway speed limit,after 1995, and before, a difference of 14.0
h.

Section 2.2 Instantaneous Velocity

21. Interpret We interpret this as a one-dimensional kinematics problem. By making a plot of distance
as
a function of time, the physical quantities of interest—the average velocity and instantaneous
velocity, can be deduced from the graph.
Develop Let the three cities, Houston, Des Moines, and Minneapolis be labeled as A, B, and C,
respectively. With Kansas City chosen to be the origin (x  0), the positions of the three cities
are: and The negative sign inindicates that Houston is south of Kansas City. Both trips start at
the same place (Houston, point A) at time and end at the same place (Des Moines, point B) at
They have the same overall displacementin the same time period, and thus the same average
velocity
Evaluate The plot of the two trips is depicted below:
 Motion in a Straight Line 2.3

The first trip, a direct flight, is represented by a straight line AB with slope Thus, the position of
the airplane as a function of time can be written as

Note that short intervals of acceleration at takeoff and landing are ignored. Since the instantaneous
velocity at a particular instant t is given by the slope ofat that time, we have

The second trip, using a faster plane (steeper slopes when flying), stops for a while in Minneapolis
at (this segment is flat) and then proceeds south to Des Moines (negative velocity and slope). This
trip is shown by three straight segments and is given analytically by the equations

Note that each segment of the second trip has been assumed to be executed with constant velocity,
ignoring takeoffs and landings. The times tC andand velocitiesandwere chosen arbitrarily. Similarly,
the instantaneous velocity for this trip is

Assess Average velocity depends only on the net displacement between the starting and ending
points. In the above situations, sinceandare linear in t (constant slope), the average velocity is
equal to the instantaneous velocity.
22. (a) A little before 2 s the curve has its greatest positive slope: (b) The greatest negative slope
occurs around 4 s: (c) where the tangent is horizontal, near 3 s and 5 s.
(d)

23. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving finding the velocity as a function
of time, given position as a function of time. The object of interest is the model rocket.
Develop The instantaneous velocitycan be obtained by taking the derivative ofThe derivative of a
function of the formcan be obtained by using Equation 2.3.
Evaluate (a) The instantaneous velocity is
(b) The velocity is zero whenor

Assess As the model rocket is launched upward with an initial velocityits altitude increases and then
reaches a maximum, where the instantaneous velocity is zero. The rocket then falls back to the
Earth.
2.4 Chapter 2

Section 2.3 Acceleration

24. Equation 2.4 the definition of average linear acceleration, for this one-hour time interval, gives
25. Interpret The object of interest is the subway train that undergoes acceleration from rest, followed
by deceleration through braking. The kinematics are one-dimensional.
Develop The average acceleration over a time intervalis given by Equation 2.4:
Evaluate Over a time interval ofthe velocity of the train (along a linear track) changes from
(starting at rest) toThe change in velocity is Thus, the average acceleration is

Assess We find that the average acceleration only depends on the change of velocity between the
starting point and the end point; the intermediate velocity is irrelevant.
26. The average acceleration of the shuttle along its trajectory, from liftoff until its main engines stop,
was (Equation 2.4) where m/s , the acceleration due to gravity at the surface of the Earth, is a
2

frequently used anthropomorphic unit.

27. Interpret The object of interest is the egg. Its motion can be divided into two stages: (i) free fall,
and
(ii) stopping after striking the ground.
Develop The average acceleration over a time interval is given by Equation 2.4: We shall take
downward velocity to be negative.
Evaluate While undergoing free fall, the velocity changes from to in 1.12 s. Therefore, the
average acceleration is

Similarly, during the stopping process, the velocity changes fromtoin 0.131 s, and the average
acceleration is

Assess Since acceleration is negative (downward) during free fall, the velocity becomes more
negative. On the other hand, during stopping, the acceleration is positive (upward), and the velocity
becomes less negative and eventually reaches zero.
28. If we assume that the airplane starts from rest,m/s at the end of a time interval during which the
average acceleration was Solving forwe find
29. Interpret The object of interest is the car, which undergoes constant acceleration. The kinematics
are one-dimensional.
Develop We first convert the units km/h to m/s, using the conversion factor

and then use Equation 2.4, to find the average acceleration over a time interval
Evaluate The speed of the car at is 1000 km/h, or 278 m/s. Therefore, the average acceleration is

Assess The magnitude of the average acceleration is about 1.8g, where is the gravitational
acceleration. An object undergoing free fall attains only a speed of 157 m/s after 16.0 s, compared
to 278 m/s of the supersonic car. Given the supersonic nature of the vehicle, the value of is
completely reasonable.

Section 2.4 Constant Acceleration

30. Interpret The problem states that the acceleration of the car is constant, so we can use the
constant-acceleration equations and techniques developed in this chapter. We’re given initial and
 Motion in a Straight Line 2.5

final speeds, and the time, and we’re asked to find the distance.
Develop Equation 2.9 relates distance to initial and final speed and to time—that’s just what we
need. We need the distance traveled during the given time, which would be the difference between
x andWe also need to be careful of our units―the problem gives us speeds in km/h and time in
seconds, so we have to convert so that everything is in the same units.
Evaluate First, convert the speeds to units of m/s. Similarly, 80 km/h  22.2 m/s.

Assess These speeds and the time are consistent with passing on a country road. The distance is
about right for a passing distance under these circumstances, too; so the answer seems reasonable.
31. Interpret The problem is to establish a connection between two mathematical equations, one for
displacement and the other for velocity, in one-dimensional kinematics.
Develop By differentiating the displacement given in Equation 2.10 with respect to t, we obtain the
corresponding velocity
Evaluate Using Tactic 2.1 for taking derivatives, we obtain

which is Equation 2.7.

Assess Both Equations 2.7 and 2.10 are used to describe one-dimensional kinematics with constant
acceleration a. If velocity is linear in t, then the corresponding displacementwill be quadratic in t.
32. (a) From Equation 2.11, with assumed, (b) The time can be found from Equation 2.9 and the
given data: 6.33 ns. (Alternatively, the value of acceleration from part (a) can be substituted into
Equation 2.7 or 2.10:

33. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem with constant acceleration. The object of
interest is the rocket.
Develop The three quantities, displacement, velocity, and acceleration, are related by Equation 2.11,
This is the equation we shall use to solve for the acceleration in part (a). Once the acceleration is
known, the time elapsed for this ascent can be calculated by using Equation 2.7,
Evaluate (a) In Equation 2.11 (with x positive upward) we are given that (the rocket starts from
rest), and Therefore, we can solve for the acceleration:

(b) From Equation 2.7, the time of flight is

Assess An acceleration of or approximatelyis typical for rocket during liftoff. This enables the
rocket to reach a speed of 2.8 km/s in just about one minute.
34. (a) From Equation 2.7, (b) From Equation 2.9, (Note the change in units. Again, we chose
equations that relate the answers directly to the given data; see solution to Exercise 33.)
35. Interpret The object of interest is the car that undergoes constant deceleration (via braking) and
comes to a complete stop after traveling a certain distance.
Develop The three quantities, displacement, velocity, and deceleration (negative acceleration), are
related by Equation 2.11, This is the equation we shall use to solve for a. The initial speed can be
converted as

Evaluate Since the car stops (v  0) after travelingfrom an initial speed of Equation 2.11 gives
2.6 Chapter 2

The magnitude of the deceleration is the absolute value of a:

Assess With this deceleration, it would take about for the car to come to a complete stop. The value
is in accordance with our driving experience.
36. Assuming the electrons travel in a straight line while coming to rest Equation 2.9 gives m for the
stopping distance. (The X rays emitted are called bremsstrahlung.)
37. Interpret The object of interest is a piece of the fragments of the meteor that undergoes constant
deceleration.
Develop The three quantities, displacement, velocity, and deceleration (negative acceleration), are
related by Equation 2.11, This is the equation we shall use to solve for the speed of the fragment.
Evaluate For a particular fragment that followed a straight-line path to the bottom, perpendicular to
the desert surface, using Equation 2.11, the initial speed is:

Assess With this rate of deceleration, it takes only about 0.03 s for the fragment to penetrate 180 m
deep into the Earth and come to a complete stop. The impact force that created this gigantic hole
was enormous!
38. From Equation 2.11, (almost 50 mi/h).

Section 2.5 The Acceleration of Gravity

39. Interpret The problem involves constant acceleration due to gravity. The object of interest is the
rock.
Develop If we ignore the travel time of the sound, then the depth of the well can be deduced if we
know the time elapsed to hear the splash. The equation to be used is Equation 2.10, but with y as
the variable. The acceleration is
Evaluate Neglecting the travel time of the sound, the rock fell for a duration of from rest The
height is given by

Assess When the travel time of the sound is ignored, the depth of the well is quadratic in t. The
longer it takes to hear the splash, the deeper the well!
40. Equation 2.11 describes the vertical motion of the apple, whose acceleration is(positive upward), if
one ignores air resistance, intervening leaves, etc. The difference in height between your friend and
you is is the initial velocity we desire, and v is the velocity of the apple when it reaches your
friend. If the apple just reaches her,Thenorm/s. (We chose the positive square root becauseis
upward.)

41. Interpret The problem involves constant acceleration due to gravity. The object of interest is the
model rocket.
Develop Using Equation 2.11, the altitude, the speed velocity, and the gravitational acceleration may
be
related as

Note that the acceleration is or downward. At any time t, the rocket’s velocity and altitude are and
Evaluate (a) At its maximum altitude, the rocket’s vertical speed is instantaneously zero, so or

(b) When t  1.0 s, the speed and the altitude are

 Motion in a Straight Line 2.7

Note that the altitude is the height above the ground,and v is positive upward.
(c) Similarly, when t  4 s, we have

(d) And when t  7 s,

Assess As the rocket moves vertically upward, its velocity decreases due to gravitational
acceleration, which points downward. Upon reaching its maximum height, the velocity reduces to
zero. It then falls back to Earth with a negative velocity. From (c) and (d), we see that the
velocities have different signs at t  4 s and t  7 s. Therefore, we conclude that the rocket is at
a maximum height between 4 and 7 s. Further calculation using Equation 2.7 gives in agreement
with our expectation.
42. (a) At the maximum height,so(b) If we neglect the distance between the bat and the ground (and
assume that the foul ball is not caught), the flight of the ball lasts until it falls back to its initial
height. Thenor
43. Interpret The object of interest is the rock, which travels vertically upward under the influence of
gravitational acceleration.
Develop When it hits the Frisbee, the rock’s velocity and height are v  3 m/s and while its initial
velocity and height areandThese quantities are related by Equation 2.11:

Evaluate Solving the above equation, we obtain

Assess The initial velocitymust be positive since the rock is thrown upward. In addition,must be
greater than the final velocity 3 m/s. These conditions are met by our result.
44. The planet’s surface gravity can be found, since orThis is closest to the value listed for Mars, in
Appendix E.

Problems
45. Interpret This is a one-dimensional problem involving two travel segments.
Develop The trip can be divided into two time intervals,andwith The total distance traveled is x 
25 mi, whereandare the distances covered in each time interval.
Evaluate During the first time interval,15 min (or 0.25 h), with an average speed of  20 mi/h, the
distance traveled is

Therefore, the remaining distance must be covered in

This implies an average speed of

Assess The overall average speed was pre-determined to be

When you drive slower during the first segment, you make it up by driving faster during the
second. In fact, the overall average speed equals the time-weighted average of the average speeds
for the two parts of the trip:

46. At the ball takes to travel from the pitcher to the catcher. (We are keeping extra significant
2.8 Chapter 2

figures in the intermediate calculations as suggested in Section 1.3.) After the catcher throws the
ball, it has to reach second base at the same time as the runner. The distance isso the minimum
speed isA prudent catcher would allow extra time for the player covering second base to make the
tag.

47. Interpret This is a one-dimensional problem involving a number of evenly divided time intervals.
The key concept here is the average velocity.
Develop The average velocity in a given time interval can be found by using Equation 2.1.
Evaluate (a) We first note that each time interval consists of 2 h of driving at a velocity of 105
km/h and a 30 min (0.5 h) stop. Therefore, the distance traveled is and the average velocity is

Since each 2.5 h interval covers the same distance of 210 km, we conclude that is also the average
velocity of the entire trip. (But see Assess below)
(b) The amount of time required for this coast-to-coast trip is

Assess The values obtained above are only approximate because the exact travel time does not
include a 30-min stop after the final segment. To find the total time, note that every 2.5 h you
would cover a distance so it would take you to travel You could drive the remaining 4600 km –
4410 km  190 km in Therefore, the amount of time spent for the entire trip would be which, as
expected, is half an hour (or 30 min) less than that found in (b). The average velocity in this case
would be

which is slightly higher than that obtained in (a).

48. The older brother can run 100 m in while the younger brother takes 20% longer or 13.3 s for the
same distance Therefore, the slower brother should be given a head start in time of 2.2 s. (Another
way to produce a tie is to give the slower brother a 16.7 m head start in distance.)
49. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving two jetliners taking off from the
endpoints of a straight path. The key concept here is the average speed.
Develop Given the average speed, the distance traveled during a time interval can be calculated
using Equation 2.1: An important point here is to recognize that at the instant the planes pass each
other, the sum of the total distance traveled by both is x  4600 km.
Evaluate Suppose the two planes pass each other after a time from take-off. We then have

which yields

Thus, the encounter occurs at a point about from San Francisco, or from New York.
Assess The point of encounter is closer to New York than San Francisco. This makes sense because
the plane that leaves from New York travels at a lower speed.
50. From the given function, and the definition of average velocity (Equation 2.1), one
obtains: (a)
(b) (c) (d) The instantaneous velocity (Equation 2.2b) is At 9.18 m/s. As the interval
surrounding 2 s gets smaller, the average and instantaneous velocities agree better; the values in
parts (c) and (d) differ by less than 0.02%.
51. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving finding the instantaneous velocity
 Motion in a Straight Line 2.9

as a function of time, given position as a function of time.

Develop The instantaneous velocitycan be obtained by taking the derivative ofThe derivative of a
function of the formcan be obtained by using Equation 2.3.
Evaluate The instantaneous velocity isOn the other hand, the average velocity over the time interval
fromto any time t can be computed by using Equation 2.1:

which is justoffrom above.

Assess We note thatis not equal to the average ofandas stated in Equation 2.8. The equation is
applicable only when acceleration is constant, which is clearly not the case here.
52. (a) The car passes the first observer at timeand the second observer at They compute the car’s
(average) velocity to be (b) The car reachesat where The observed velocity differs from this by
only

53. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving finding the instantaneous velocity,
instantaneous acceleration, average velocity, and average acceleration as a function of time, given
position as a function of time.
Develop The instantaneous velocitycan be obtained by taking the derivative ofand by
differentiatingwith respect to t, we obtain the instantaneous accelerationThe derivative of a
function of the form can be obtained by using Equation 2.3.
Evaluate (a) Taking the first derivative of the instantaneous velocity is

(b) Taking the first derivative ofor the second derivative of the instantaneous acceleration is

(c) The average velocity during the first 2.5 s is

(d) Similarly, the average acceleration during the first 2.5 s is

Assess We expect the acceleration in this problem not to be a constant, but to vary linearly in t. In a
situation where the acceleration a is a constant, the displacement is quadratic function of t.
54. Squaring Equation 2.7, and equating to Equation 2.11, one finds or which is Equation 2.10.
55. Interpret We interpret this as a one-dimensional problem with a car undergoing constant
deceleration. The key concepts here are stopping distance and stopping time.
Develop The stopping distance and the stopping time are related by Equation 2.9, for motion with
constant deceleration.
Evaluate Letbe the initial velocity andbe the final velocity. Equation 2.9 can then be rewritten as

Thus, we see that the stopping distance,is proportional to the stopping time, t, and both are reduced
by the same amount (55%).
Assess Anti-lock brakes optimize the deceleration by controlling the wheels to roll just at the point
of skidding. The shorter the stopping distance, the lesser the stopping time.
56. In this problem we must use for the acceleration in Table 2.1. (a) A return to the initial position
means for From Equation 2.10, Since we can divide to get (b) The speed, or magnitude of the
velocity, can be found from Equation 2.7: The speed is the same, but the direction of motion is
reversed.
2.10 Chapter 2

57. Interpret We interpret this as a one-dimensional kinematics problem with the hockey puck being
the object of interest.
Develop We assume the hockey puck to undergo constant deceleration while moving through snow.
Equation 2.9,
provides the connection between the initial velocitythe final velocity
the travel time t, and the distance traveledFor part (b), to find the minimum
thickness of the snow needed to stop the hockey puck entirely, we first find the acceleration a and
then solve Equation 2.11, by setting the final velocity to zero.
Evaluate (a) Using Equation 2.9, the time the hockey puck spends traversing 35 cm of snow is

(b) Using Equation 2.7, the acceleration is

The negative sign means that the puck is decelerating. Now, substituting the value into Equation
2.11 with v  0, the minimum thickness of the snow wall is

Thus, any wall of snow thicker than 0.512 m would stop the hockey puck.
Assess We find the minimum thickness to be proportional to and inversely proportional to the
deceleration a. This agrees with our intuition: The greater the speed of the puck, the thicker the
snow needed to bring it to a stop; similarly, less snow would be needed with increasing
deceleration.
58. (a) and (b) The train goes from velocity(positive eastward) at to a stop,at The constant acceleration
wasThe magnitude of the acceleration is the absolute value of this, while its direction, indicated by
the negative sign, was westward. (c) Equation 2.9 gives the stopping distance: (Equations 2.10 or
2.11 and the acceleration from part (a) could also have been used to obtain the same result.)
59. Interpret We interpret this as a one-dimensional kinematics problem with constant deceleration.
The jetliner is the object of interest.
Develop Equation 2.9, relates distance, initial velocity, and final velocity. The equation can be used
to solve for the shortest runway.
Evaluate With the final velocity v set to zero, Equation 2.9 gives

Assess The length is a bit short compared to the typical minimum landing runway length of about
1.5 km for full-size jetliners.
60. (a) From the given acceleration,the distance traveled, 34 m, and the final velocity,( just before the
collision), the initial velocity (when the braking began) can be calculated:or (b) The deceleration
time interval was (The positive x direction is the direction in which the car was moving.)

61. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving constant acceleration. The object
of interest is the racing car moving along a straight path. The key concepts here are the average
speed and distance.
Develop Equation 2.9, relates distance, initial speed, and final speed. This is the equation we’ll use
to solve for the initial speed. To solve part (b), we first find the acceleration and then make use of
Equation 2.11,
Evaluate (a) Solving Equation 2.9, we find the initial speed to be

(b) From Equation 2.7, we find the acceleration to be

 Motion in a Straight Line 2.11

Upon substituting the result into Equation 2.11, the distance traveled starting from rest while
reaching
a velocity is

Assess Comparing parts (a) and (b), the car travels a distance of 179 m from rest to the end of
the 140-m distance mark. Using Equation 2.11, we can show that the additional 39 m (179 m –
140 m) is the distance traveled to bring the car from rest to an initial speed of

62. The minimum distance a car needs to stopfrom an initial speedwith a constant acceleration is
(Equation 2.11) (positive in the direction of). Since 85 m is greater than twice this distance, the
cars can avoid a collision, and they will be apart when stopped.
To plot x versus t, using Equation 2.10 for each car, we need to choose an origin, say at the
midpoint of the separation between the cars, with positive x in the direction of the initial velocity of
the first car, and when the brakes are applied. Thenand A graph of andis as shown.

63. Interpret We interpret this as two problems involving one-dimensional kinematics with constant
acceleration. The two objects of interest are you and the leader in a race.
Develop While the leader (runner B) maintains a constant speed, you (runner A) are trying to catch
up to him with a constant acceleration. Position as a function of time is given by Equation 2.10,
We’ll write down two equations, one forand one forThe condition that both runners finish
simultaneously may be expressed as
Evaluate Taking and at the 9 km point (and assuming a straight path to the finish), we can
express your position (runner A) and that of the leader (runner B) as

Since runner B’s speed is constantfor the remaining 0.9 km, it would take himto finish. The
condition that both runners finish simultaneously would be

which gives
Assess In order for runner A to catch up to B, he must run faster than the speed he was running
initially. At the instant A crosses the finish line, his speed would be The longer he trails behind B,
the greater his acceleration must be to catch up.
64. Interpret We find the distance between two cars, one of which has constant speed and the other of
2.12 Chapter 2

which has constant acceleration. We will use the equations for constant-acceleration motion.
Develop The car in front has constant speed so its equation for position is where is the distance
between the two cars at The car coming from behind has initial position initial velocity and
acceleration at and the equation for its position is The distance between the two cars is If the
value of becomes zero, the cars have collided: We can find the relative speed by taking the time
derivative of
Evaluate Let’s start by finding the minimum distance between the cars. If this minimum is greater
than zero, they didn’t hit and we get all our answers at once. To find the minimum distance, set
Take this time and plug it back into the equation forto obtain
Assess They don’t hit, and the minimum distance between them is 4.33 m.
65. Interpret We interpret this as a one-dimensional kinematics problem. The object of interest is the
Mars rover Spirit. The key concepts here are impact speed and vertical distance.
Develop Equation 2.11,can be used to describe the vertical motion of the Mars rover Spirit. After
rebounding with a vertical impact speedfrom the surface, the spacecraft attains a maximum height
when v  0. Note that the gravitational acceleration of Mars is
Evaluate Solving Equation 2.11 with the impact speed is found to be

Assess We find the impact speed to be proportional to the square-root of the rebound height. This
agrees with our expectation that the greater the impact speed, the higher the rover will rebound.
66. Interpret We’re asked to find the speed at which something should be tossed upward so that the
entire up-and-down trajectory takes 1 second. This is a constant-acceleration problem, since the
acceleration of the object is due to gravity and it’s close to the surface of the Earth.
Develop We can use the equations of motion for constant acceleration. We know the initial and final
positions of the atom cluster, which we will define asWe know the acceleration of the cluster,
which is g. We want to know the initial speedso the equation that is most useful to us would be
Equation 2.10: Solve this equation for
Evaluate Substitute zero for x and and –g for acceleration, in

Numerically, then,
Assess Note that the answer is independent of what is thrown. Whether we throw a ball, or “throw”
a cluster of atoms, the acceleration due to gravity is the same and they have the same behavior.
67. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem that involves finding the vertical distance of
an object as a function of time.
Develop Using Equation 2.10, the vertical position of the object falling from as a function of time
may be written as

Note that the acceleration is which points downward.

Evaluate The vertical displacement (negative for downward) during the last second (an interval
from s
to t) is

On the other hand, the vertical displacement from t  0 to t isFrom the problem statement, the
former is one-fourth of the latter:

Solving the quadratic equation for t, we obtain(We discarded the negative square root because t is
 Motion in a Straight Line 2.13

obviously greater than 1 s.) Substituting this value of into the equation above, we find

Sincewe conclude that the object must be dropped from a height of

Assess During a free fall, the vertical distance traveled is proportional to Therefore, we expect the
object to travel a greater distance during the latter time interval. In general, we must also take into
consideration air resistance.
68. A stone dropped from a height achieves a speed while one thrown downward with initial speed
attains a speed For and the difference in speed is (This is the same if the rocks are thrown
upward with but then the attackers would have more time to get out of the way.)

69. Interpret We interpret this as two problems involving one-dimensional kinematics with constant
acceleration due to gravity. The objects of interest are the two divers.
Develop Let A be the diver who jumps upward with 1.80 m/s, and B be the one who steps off the
platform. The velocity of diver A as he passes B on his way down isUsing Equation 2.11, the
positions and the speeds of the divers may be written as:

Note that the acceleration iswhich points downward. For part (b), we may use Equation 2.10 to
write down the vertical position of the divers as a function of time.
Evaluate (a) At the water’s surface, the speeds of the divers are

Note that we have chosen the negative square roots forandsince the divers are moving downward.
(b) The vertical position of the divers as a function of time may be written as

The divers hit the water when Solving the equations above, we find and Therefore, we see that
diver A hits about before diver B.
Assess We expect diver A to spend less time in the air and hit the water first because he has a
non-zero downward velocity compared to B.
70. The initial (positive upward) velocity of the ball is 12 m/s relative to the passenger who throws it.
Because the passenger is moving upward with constant velocity of 10 m/s, the initial velocity of the
ball relative to the ground is 22 m/s. Assuming the ball is acted upon only by gravity (after being
thrown atwe can write its vertical position as The balloon carrying the passenger is acted upon by
the buoyant force of the air, in addition to gravity, so that it ascends with constant velocity (see
Section 15.3). Thus, the vertical position of the passenger (in the same coordinate system used for
the ball) isThe passenger catches the ball whenfor t > 0. This implies (Because the balloon is moving
with constant velocity, a coordinate system attached to the passenger, is an inertial frame (see
Section 3.3) in which the ball’s position is Setting gives one the same time of flight.)

71. Interpret The object of interest is the spacecraft, which undergoes free fall under the influence of
gravitational acceleration of the Moon.
Develop Using Equation 2.10, the vertical position of the spacecraft falling fromas a function of time
may be written as

The gravitational acceleration of the Moon isabout 1/6 of that of the Earth.
Evaluate Withthe amount of time it takes to drop 12 m from rest is
2.14 Chapter 2

The velocity at impact is The impact speed is therefore equal to

Assess Our result indicates that t is proportional to Therefore, the greater the gravitational
acceleration, the less time it takes for the free fall.
72. The altitude of the rocket, launched from restat ground zeroand, isThe rocket enters the clouds at
time t1, given byor It leaves the clouds at time given byor The time spent in the clouds is
73. Interpret We interpret this as two problems involving one-dimensional kinematics with constant
acceleration. The two objects of interest are the two trains.
Develop Let the fast train be A and the slow train be B. While B maintains a constant speed, A tries
to slow down to avoid collision with a constant deceleration. We take the originandat the point
where A begins decelerating, with positive x in the direction of motion. Position as a function of
time is given by Equation 2.10, We shall write down two equations, one forand one forThe
condition that both trains collide may be expressed as
Evaluate We first rewrite the initial speeds of the trains as

We can express the positions of trains A and B as

When the trains collide,The above equations then give

Using the quadratic formula to solve for the smaller root, we find

The velocity of train A at the time of the collision is

Therefore, the relative speed of impact is

or 17.4 km/h.
Assess The initial relative speed isBraking reduces the speed of train A, and the relative speed
between A and B, but apparently the deceleration a  2.1 m/s is not enough to prevent collision.
2

74. Take at ground level. (a) Since the vertical instantaneous velocity is zero at the top of the
trajectory, For the book to clear the sill, therefore (Neglect of air resistance is a fair
approximation, provided the book doesn’t open during its flight.) (b) To find the time of flight to
the floor, we need to find the larger root of
Equation 2.10 (since the book passes the height of the floor on the way up first), with andThis is

75. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving two travel segments. The key
concept here is the average speed.
Develop The average speed is the total distance divided by the total time, or In either case, we
shall find the total distance traveled and the time taken.
Evaluate (a) Let the distances traveled during the two time intervals beandThe total distance is the
sum of the distances covered at each speed:
 Motion in a Straight Line 2.15

Thus, the average speed is

(b) In this case, letandbe the two time intervals. The total time is the sum of the times traveled at
each speed:

Therefore, the average speed is

Assess The average speed is the time-weighted average of the separate speeds: With this in
mind, the result in part (a) may be rewritten as

and for part (b),

76. (a) For and

(b) Since the maximum value of the sine or cosine functions is 1,and (The motion described byis
called simple harmonic motion; see Chapter 13.)
77. Interpret We interpret this as a one-dimensional kinematics problem that involves finding the
vertical position of a person as a function of time.
Develop Using Equation 2.10, the vertical position of a person as a function of time may be written
as
(setting )

Note that the acceleration iswhich points downward. The quadratic formula gives two times when
the leaper passes a particular height:

The smaller value,corresponds to the time for going up and the larger,for going down. Therefore,
the time spent above that height is just

Using Equation 2.11,we find that in order to reach a maximum height h, the initial velocity must be
The above expression for may be simplified as

Evaluate The total time spent in the air is the time spent above the ground. Settingwe have

Similarly, the time spent in the upper half, aboveis

Therefore,

or 70.7%.
Assess Our result indicates that while in the air, a person spends 70.7% of the time on the upper
half of the height. Such a large fraction of time is what gives the illusion of “hanging” almost
motionless near the top of the leap.
78. If the balloon was dropped from heightat time then its height at any later time isWhen it passes the
top of the window, and when passing the bottom, The length of the window is But (the time
required to cross the window), so Combined with the value of the difference in times, we find that
2.16 Chapter 2

Finally, the height above the top of the window is

79. Interpret This is a one-dimensional kinematics problem involving constant deceleration. The object
of interest is the motorist moving along a straight path. The key concepts here are the average
speed and the distance traveled.
Develop The speed of radar waves is so great compared to the speed of a motor vehicle, we can
neglect any motion of the car during the travel times of the radar signals. Equation 2.11, relates
the distance traveled to the initial speed, the final speed, and the deceleration. This is the equation
we shall use to solve for the deceleration.
Evaluate The motorist has 0.9 km to slow down from v0  110 km/h to v  70 km/h. This requires
a constant acceleration of

Thus, the deceleration must be at least to avoid getting a ticket.

Assess The result means that the speed must be decreased by 1.11 km/h in each second. So, in 36
seconds, the speed is decreased from 110 km/h to 70 km/h.
80. Interpret This problem asks for average speed, which is distance divided by time.
Develop The average speed for an entire trip is the total distance divided by total time. In finding an
average like this, we don’t need to worry about speeds during individual portions of a trip, just use
To calculate a time-weighted average, find the average of each section, multiply each by the time
for that section, and then divide by the total time.
For the first leg of the trip, the distance is 24 km and the time is 2.5 h. For the second, the
distance is 24 km and the time is 1.5 h.
Evaluate
The time-weighted average is

So the time-weighted average speed is the average speed, always.

Assess The problem asked for us to show that the time-weighted average speed was equal to the
average speed. We could have done that for this one case by plugging in numbers: but it’s better to
do the general case instead. Now we’ve shown that this is always the case, so we don’t have to go
back and check each individual case.
81. Interpret We’re asked to find equations for instantaneous velocity and position for a non-constant
acceleration, given an equation for acceleration.
Develop We can’t use the constant-acceleration equations, obviously, but we can still use our
definitions for velocity and accelerationand work backward to get the equations we need. For
example:

The initial position (at ) isand the initial velocity is

Evaluate To find the constantnote thatWe are told in the problem statement that the initial velocity
isso and
For position, use the same procedure: The position atisso and
Assess Note that the derivative of a(t) for this problem is a constant. The derivative of acceleration
is called jerk, so what we’ve just derived in these equations are the equations for constant-jerk
motion.
82. Interpret You need to find the acceleration needed to catch another runner who is going the same
speed, but is in front of you by some initial distance. You can use constant-acceleration equations.
You know your initial pace, and the distance; you need to find the final pace and the acceleration.
Develop First, convert pace (minutes/mile) to speed in m/s. You can convert back to pace at the
 Motion in a Straight Line 2.17

end. You know the distances, but you’ll need the time you have left. You can get this time from the
distance and speed of the runner you’re trying to catch. Once you have distance, time, and initial
speed, you can use the constant-acceleration equations to find the acceleration and the final speed.
Use the constant-acceleration equation that deals with position, time, and initial velocity,and solve
for a. Use this acceleration and the time to find your final velocity with
Evaluate Your initial velocity (and that of the runner you’re trying to catch) is The time you have
to catch her is At the end of that time, you need to have gone a distance

Your speed at the end of this final sprint isand your pace is
Assess Running a 5-minute mile pace at the final sprint is reasonable, depending on how badly you
want to win! If this acceleration seems rather small, it may be because you’re used to dealing with
gravity problems. Not everything accelerates at g.
83. Interpret This problem, like Example 2.6, involves constant acceleration of a ball due to gravity. We
want to find the final speed and the time.
Develop The ball in Example 2.6 starts at a height of 1.5 meters, with an initial upward speed of 7.3
m/s. The second ball starts at the same height with the same speed, but downward. We’re asked to
find the speed of both balls just before they hit the floor and the time that the second ball hits. We
can use the constant-acceleration equations, since the only acceleration is due to gravity. Start
with to find the final velocities, then useto find the time.
Evaluate (a)
(b)
(c)

Take the positive solution: The ball hits in 0.18 s.

Assess Note that the answers to parts (a) and (b) are the same. This makes sense, since in the
example problem the speed of the ball when it comes back down to hand-level is the same as the
initial speed of the ball in part (b).
84. Interpret What’s the maximum speed of a signal? Is it possible for a signal to travel 2 ft in 8 µs?
Develop The maximum speed of anything is the speed of light,Check to see if what the salesman is
claiming violates this speed limit.
Evaluate
Assess This salesman might still be trying to fool you—he doesn’t have a particularly good record in
this regard—but at least he’s not claiming that his computer can violate the laws of physics!
85. Interpret We can use constant acceleration on this problem, again, since the only acceleration is that
of gravity. Our goal is to find the number of drops per second.
Develop There are exactly three drops falling at any time: two halfway down and one either hitting
or just leaving. So if we find the time it takes one drop to fall, and divide that time by three, we
have the time between drops. We can use the constant-acceleration motion equations: the most
useful one in this case would be with andThe question asks for drops per second, so convert
seconds per drop to drops per second for the final answer.
Evaluate Find the time it takes one drop to fall:

There are three drops in that time, so the time between drops is The drops per second is the
reciprocal of the time between drops:
Assess This is pretty fast for a leaky faucet, but the time looks about right for the distance
involved.
2.18 Chapter 2

86. Interpret This problem involves two constant-acceleration problems: the falling water balloon, and
the walking victims. We want to find the distance the victims walk in the time that the balloons fall.
Develop We will use for both problems. First, we use it to find the time it takes for our water
balloons to fall. Next, we use this time and the victim’s speed (with zero acceleration) to find how
far the victim would move in the time that the balloon is falling. We put the X at this distance from
the impact point.
The initial height of the balloon is 64 ft, which we must convert to m. The constant speed of the
victims is 2 m/s.
Evaluate Find the time for the balloon to fall:

Now find the distance the victim walks in that time:

The initial height is so

Put the X 4.0 meters from a spot directly below your dorm window.
Assess This is not a particularly good idea, since the balloons would hit at a speed of It will hardly
endear you to your fellow students!
87. Interpret We want to find time, given distance and speed. Make sure your units are correct!
Develop Walking speed is 3 mph, cycling speed is and driving speed is
55 mph. The distance is 2800 miles, so find the time for each mode of transportation. Use
Evaluate Walking: or about five-and-a-half weeks. Cycling, it would take about Driving,
Assess The record for the cycling RAAM (Race Across America) was set in 1992 by Rob Kish with
a time of
8 days, 3 hours, and 11 minutes. That’s a bit slower than our 7.5 day estimate, but we did not allow
for time spent eating or sleeping in our calculation!