How Fast Does a Dragster Accelerate?

[krazykaci]

A dragser and a driver together have a mass 905.5 the dragster, starting at rest, attains a speed of 25 m/s in .61s. find the average acceleration of the dragster during the time interval. answer in units of m/s.

ok I am assuming we have 3 variable for a kinematic equation t=.61s, v.=0, and v=25m/s so i would solve for acceleration using v=v.+at ... right? If not I need some help please.

 

[Astronuc]

v=v.+at is correct, as is t=.61s, v.=0, and v=25m/s, which gives . . .

See the definition of acceleration here -

http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/acca.html

Use the link "Motion equations when acceleration is constant" to see equations for 'constant' acceleration.

 

[kyle8921]

Yes, you are correct. The kinematic equation that we can use here is v = v0 + at, where v is the final velocity, v0 is the initial velocity (in this case, 0 m/s), a is the acceleration, and t is the time interval (.61 seconds).

Plugging in the values we have, we get 25 m/s = 0 + a(.61 s). Solving for a, we get a = 25/0.61 = 40.98 m/s^2.

Therefore, the average acceleration of the dragster during the time interval is 40.98 m/s^2. This means that for every second, the dragster's speed increases by 40.98 m/s. This is a very high acceleration, which is expected for a dragster as it is designed for high-speed racing.