Question

A skateboarder is moving to the right with a velocity of 8 \,\dfrac{\text m}{\text s}8 s m ​ 8, space, start fraction, m, divided by, s, end fraction. After a steady gust of wind that lasts 5 \,\text{s}5s5, space, s, the skateboarder is moving to the right with a velocity of 5\,\dfrac{\text m}{\text s}5 s m ​ 5, space, start fraction, m, divided by, s, end fraction.

Answer 1

Answer:

$-0.6 m/s^2$ (to the left)

Explanation:

The question is missing in the text. The complete text of the problem is:

"A skateboarder is moving to the right with a velocity of 8 m/s. After a steady gust of wind that lasts 5 s, the skateboarder is moving to the right with a velocity of 5 m/s. Assuming the acceleration is constant, what is the acceleration of the skateboarder during the 5 s time period?"

Solution:

The acceleration of the skateboarder is given by:

$a=\frac{v-u}{t}$

where

a is the acceleration

v is the final velocity after a time t

u is the initial velocity

t is the time interval

In this problem, taking the right as positive direction, we have:

u = +8 m/s (to the right)

v = +5 m/s (to the right)

t = 5 s

Substituting into the equation, we find

$a=\frac{+5-(+8)}{5}=-0.6 m/s^2$

And the negative sign means the acceleration is towards the left.