I'm having trouble with another problem, any help is great. A speeder passes a parked policeman at a constant speed of 22.6 m/s. At that instant the police car starts from rest with a uniform acceleration of 2.7 m/s^2. How much time (t) passes before the speeder is overtaken by the policeman? Answer in units of s. Remember I don't want the answer just how to work the problem. Thanks.
First of all, congrats on trying to learn instead of just get answers... With that... here're are some clues for you. You have 2 vehicles, right? They're both moving, right? You know that there is some equation(s) that defines each of their motions, right? You need to understand that the point where these two equations intersect is where the cop and the speeder are at the same point. In other words, where the 2 equations intersect is where the cop overtakes the speeder. So with that in mind, tell me if your physics book talks about the following : x=x0 + v0t + 1/2at^2 This is an equation that basically gives position as a function of time. v is the velocity a is the acceleration. Keep in mind both the speeder and the cop have acceleration and velocity. And keep in mind what I said about where they intersect. If I gave you the equations of 2 lines, how do you know where they intersect? If you're still stumped, let me know. I'll throw in another hint.
Thanks DOD, I got it but now I'm having even more trouble on this problem: A ball is thrown vertically upward from ground level. The ball is caught 3.4 s later by a person 10 m above ground level. To what maximum height did the ball rise above ground level? Answer in units of m. Remember only help and not the answer.