Tom & are 25 m apart at rest. Tom accelerates at 5 m/s/s towards . 0.21 sec later accelerates 6 m/s/s towards Tom. Where do they meet, how fast is each traveling when they meet, and when do they meet?

Question

Tom &  are 25 m apart at rest. Tom accelerates at 5 m/s/s towards . 0.21 sec later  accelerates 6 m/s/s towards Tom. Where do they meet, how fast is each traveling when they meet, and when do they meet?

drwls · Answer

Write equations for Tom and 's locations and solve for the time they are equal. After you have the time, the other two unknowns are easily computed.

X1 = (5/2) t^2 is Tom's location in feet, if t is in seconds. Assume he starts at the origin, X = 0

X2 = 25 - 3 (t-0.21)^2 is 's location for t>0.21 s

Solve for t when X1 = X2.
Tom's velocity at that time is 5 t ft/s