Question

A plane traveling at – 45 m/s slows down to – 15 m/s in a time of 8.0 s.

(a) What was the planes displacement during this
time?
1. 240 m
2. -240 m
3. 30 m
4. -30 m

Answer 1

The plane's displacement during the 8.0 seconds as it decelerates from -45 m/s to -15 m/s is -240 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student's question involves calculating the displacement of a plane that is decelerating over a period of time. The plane slows down from an initial velocity of -45 m/s to a final velocity of -15 m/s over 8.0 seconds. To find the displacement, we need to calculate the average velocity during this time period, which is the sum of the initial and final velocity divided by 2, and then multiplied by the time.

The average velocity is:
(-45 m/s + -15 m/s) / 2 = -30 m/s. Now, we multiply the average velocity by the time:
-30 m/s * 8.0 s = -240 m. Therefore, the plane's displacement during this time is -240 meters.