March 2004
Beginner
504 pages
9h 2m
English
The preceding section took a closer look at instantaneous velocity, and you ended up computing derivatives. This section goes one step further by delving deeper into the realm of acceleration, which leads to the concept of a second derivative. Let's start by taking a graphical approach again.
Rather than graph an object's position versus time, let's graph an object's speed or velocity versus time. Suppose a race car driver starts at a dead stop and floors the gas pedal. At regular intervals, his instantaneous velocity is recorded. These values are shown in Table 9.2.
| t (in sec) | v (in m/s) |
|---|---|
| 0 | 0 |
| 1 | 3 |
| 2 | 12 |
| 3 | 27 |
| 4 | 48 |
| 5 | 75 |
| 6 | 108 |
You can graph these points to see how the ...
Read now
Unlock full access