Car Chase
A car (c) with one headlight burned
out is traveling at a constant speed of 18 m/s and passes a stopped
police car (p). The car is pursued
immediately by the police cruiser, which has a constant acceleration
of magnitude 2.2 m/s2.
(a) How far does the police cruiser travel before catching the
other car?
(b) At what time will this occur? (Hint: Graphing may help to
visualize this problem.)
Accumulated solution:
Position of the car:
xc = x0c + v0ct
Position of the police cruiser:
xp = x0p +
v0pt
+ ½ at2 with
x0p = 0
The condition for the two cars to meet is:
(a) vc = vp
(b) t = 0
(c) xc = xp