Jim and Tae are paddling to the right at 6 meters per second. They encounter some rapids and 11 seconds later are traveling at 4 meters per second.

Question

Jim and Tae are paddling to the right at 6 meters per second. They encounter some rapids and 11 seconds later are traveling at 4 meters per second.

What is the kayak's acceleration?

Answer 1

We know that the V_f = V_o + at

If we take V_f = 4 m/s, V_o = 6 m/s, and t = 11 s, we can solve for the acceleration.

To solve for a the equation would look something like:

a = (V_f - V_o)/t = (4 m/s - 6 m/s)/11 s = -.182 m/s²

The negative acceleration makes sense in this situation since the kayak's velocity decreased. Hope this helps!