solve for time given distance, initial velocity, and acceleration

$\begingroup$

I've been having trouble sorting this one out. I need to compute the time it will take for a vehicle traveling along a straight line to reach a particular point. I have the initial velocity ($v_i$), acceleration ($a$), and distance ($dx$) to the point. I don't have the final velocity $v_f$ nor the time $t$ I've been trying to solve this equation for time ($t$) but that's where I'm stuck.

$$ dx = v_it + {1\over2}at^2$$

$\endgroup$ 0

2 Answers

$\begingroup$

You know everything except t in this equation. Therefore you should be able to re-arrange the equation into the form at^2 + bt + c = 0, the quadratic form. From there, you need to solve the quadratic (using the quadratic formula for example) to get two solutions for t. Since negative t does not make sense in this context, your answer will be the positive value for t.

$\endgroup$ 3 $\begingroup$

Use the Quadratic Formula. ${}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}$

$\endgroup$ 1

Your Answer

Sign up or log in

Sign up using Google Sign up using Facebook Sign up using Email and Password Submit

Post as a guest

Post Your Answer Discard

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service, privacy policy and cookie policy