rocket-driven sled

Question

A rocket-driven sled running on a straight, level track has been used to study the physiological e?ects of large accelerations on astronauts. One such sled can attain a speed of 351 m/s in 1.6 s starting from rest.

 

What is the acceleration of the sled, assuming it is constant?

 

 

How many g’s would you pull? That is, what factor times g = 9.80 m/s2 is this?

 

 

How far does the sled travel in 1.6s, starting from rest?

Answer 1

With constant acceleration, v = at, so a = v/t.

 

That means that the acceleration is 351 m/s  / 1.6 s = 219.4 m / s².

 

That's 219.4 / 9.8 = 22.4 g.

 

Distance traveled under constant acceleration from rest is 1/2 at² = 0.5 * 219.4 * (1.6)²= 280.8 meters.