A mouse travels along a straight line; its distance from the origin at any time is given by the equation.

Question

x= (8.1 cm * s^-1)t-(2.7cm * s^-2)t^2

A) Find the average velocity of the mouse in the interval from t= 0 to t= 1.0 .
value=?; unit= ?

B)Find the average velocity of the mouse in the interval from t=0 to t= 4.0 .
value?; unit= ?

Express your answer to two significant figures and include the appropriate units.

Answer 1

A) Divide the distance traveled by the time interval
[x(1) - x(0)]/1 = (8 - 2.7)/1 = 5.3 m/s

B) Do the same thing, but use t(4), t(0) and an interval of t = 4.
Note that the mouse changes direction and ends up going backwards.

[x(4) - x(0)]/4 = (32.4 - 43.2]/4
= -2.7 m/s