Suppose the final velocity of a motorcycle is 26 m/s east, and it has an average velocity of 76 m/s east. What is the initial velocity of the motorcycle? Assume that the east direction is the positive direction of motion.
- a152 m/s
- b-126 m/s
- c126 m/sCorrect
- d-152 m/s
We know the average velocity is half the sum of the initial and final velocities. However, this question asks us for the initial velocity. Step 1: Rearrange the average velocity formula to solve for the initial velocity. We can solve for the initial velocity by multiplying the average velocity by two and then subtracting the final velocity from the result. vav = (vf + vi) / 2 vav * 2 = [(vf + vi) / 2] * 2 (vav * 2), vf = vf+ vi, vf vi = (vav * 2), vf Step 2: Calculate the magnitude of the initial velocity of the motorcycle. Substitute the following values into our new initial velocity formula: average velocity (vav = 76 m/s), and final velocity (vf = 26 m/s): vi = (vav * 2), vf vi = (76 m/s * 2), 26 m/s vi = 152 m/s, 26 m/s vi = 126 m/s The initial velocity is 126 m/s.
Source recency: 2026