Average acceleration of a body – Rankers Physics
Topic: Kinematics
Subtopic: Average Speed and Velocity

Average acceleration of a body

A body is moving with velocity \(30\text{ m/s}\) towards east. After 10 seconds its velocity becomes \(40\text{ m/s}\) towards north. The average acceleration of the body is:

(2011 Pre)

\(1\text{ m/s}^2\)
\(7\text{ m/s}^2\)
\(7\text{ m/s}^2\)
\(5\text{ m/s}^2\)

Solution:

Initial velocity \(\vec{v}_i = 30\hat{i}\). Final velocity \(\vec{v}_f = 40\hat{j}\). Time interval \(\Delta t = 10\text{ s}\). Average acceleration \(\vec{a}_{av} = \frac{\vec{v}_f - \vec{v}_i}{\Delta t} = \frac{40\hat{j} - 30\hat{i}}{10} = -3\hat{i} + 4\hat{j}\). The magnitude of average acceleration is \(|\vec{a}_{av}| = \sqrt{(-3)^2 + 4^2} = \sqrt{9+16} = \sqrt{25} = 5\text{ m/s}^2\).

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *