Question

What is the acceleration of an airplane maintaining a constant speed of 67.7 m/s?

Answer 1

Zero (assuming the airplane is moving in straight direction)

Step-by-step explanation:

Acceleration is equal to the rate of change in velocity divided by the time taken for the change in velocity to occur:

`a=(\Delta v)/(\Delta t)`

where

`\Delta v` is the change in velocity

`\Delta t` is the time taken

In this problem, the airplane is moving at constant speed, so its change in velocity is zero (if the airplane is moving in a straight direction*), therefore
`\Delta v=0` and the acceleration is zero:
`a=0`.

* If the airplane is changing direction, than the acceleration is non-zero, because it means that the velocity (which consists of both magnitude and direction) is changing.