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College Physics (Urone)
Found in: Page 79
College Physics (Urone)

College Physics (Urone)

Book edition 1st Edition
Author(s) Paul Peter Urone
Pages 1272 pages
ISBN 9781938168000

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Short Answer

Is it possible for speed to be constant while acceleration is not zero? Give an example of such a situation.

Yes, it is possible in the case of uniform circular motion.

See the step by step solution

Step by Step Solution

TABLE OF CONTENTS :
TABLE OF CONTENTS

Step 1: Velocity and Acceleration

Keep in mind that speed and velocity are not interchangeable terms. Because velocity is a vector, it has a magnitude as well as a direction. The magnitude element of the velocity is called speed.

The change in velocity over time is referred to as acceleration.

There will be an acceleration if the magnitude (speed) or direction (direction) of the velocity changes.

Step 2: Example where speed is constant, but acceleration is non-zero

An object traveling in a uniform circular motion would have a constant speed and centripetal acceleration (directed toward the center of the circle). Still, its velocity would not be constant since the object's motion direction is changing.

An item thrown straight up is another example. At the peak of its motion, it would have zero speed (the magnitude of the velocity is 0), but the change in velocity is not zero since the object's motion shifts from upward to downward.

Hence there are cases in which even speed is constant, but acceleration is possible only because of the direction component.

Most popular questions for Physics Textbooks

A woodpecker’s brain is specially protected from large decelerations by tendon-like attachments inside the skull. While pecking on a tree, the woodpecker’s head comes to a stop from an initial velocity of 0.600 m/s in a distance of only 2.99 mm.

(a) Find the acceleration in m/s2 and in multiples of (g = 9.80 m/s2).

(b) Calculate the stopping time.

(c) The tendons cradling the brain stretch, making its stopping distance 4.50(greater than the head and, hence, less deceleration of the brain). What is the brain’s deceleration, expressed in multiples of g?

There is a distinction between average speed and the magnitude of average velocity. Give an example that illustrates the difference between these two quantities.

A coin is dropped from a hot-air balloon that is 300m above the ground and rising at 10.00 m/s upward. For the coin, find (a) the maximum height reached, (b) its position and velocity 4.00 s after being released, and (c) the time before it hits the ground.

a) A light-rail commuter train accelerates at a rate of \({\bf{1}}{\bf{.35}}\;{\bf{m/}}{{\bf{s}}^{\bf{2}}}\). How long does it take to reach its top speed of 80.0 km/h, starting from rest? (b) The same train ordinarily decelerates at a rate of \({\bf{1}}{\bf{.65}}\;{\bf{m/}}{{\bf{s}}^{\bf{2}}}\). How long does it take to come to a stop from its top speed? (c) In emergencies the train can decelerate more rapidly, coming to rest from 80.0 km/h in 8.30 s. What is its emergency deceleration in \({\bf{m/}}{{\bf{s}}^{\bf{2}}}\)?

If you divide the total distance travelled on a car trip (as determined by the odometer) by the time for the trip, are you calculating the average speed or the magnitude of the average velocity? Under what circumstances are these two quantities the same?
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