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A roller coaster starts from rest at its highest point and then descends on its (frictionless) track. Its speed is 26 m/s when it reaches ground level. What was its speed when its height was half that of its starting point?

Respuesta :

Answer:

The velocity is  [tex]v_h = 19.2 \ m/s[/tex]

Explanation:

From the question we are told that

   The speed of the roller coaster at ground level  is [tex]v = 26 \ m/s[/tex]

 

Generally we can define the roller coaster speed at ground level using the an equation of motion as

     [tex]v^2 = u^2 + 2 g s[/tex]

 u is  zero given that the roller coaster started from rest

      So

            [tex]26^2 = 0 + 2 * g * s[/tex]

So  

           [tex]s = \frac{26^2}{ 2 * g }[/tex]

=>       [tex]s = 37.6 \ m[/tex]

Now the displacement half way is mathematically represented as

       

    [tex]s_{h} = \frac{37.6}{2}[/tex]

     [tex]s_{h} = 18.8 \ m[/tex]

So

      [tex]v_h ^2 = u^2 + 2 * g * s_h[/tex]

Where  [tex]v_h[/tex] is the velocity at the half way point

=>  [tex]v_h = \sqrt{ 0 + 2 * 9.8 * 18.8 }[/tex]

=>   [tex]v_h = 19.2 \ m/s[/tex]

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