A competitive go-cart driver is traveling 32 m/s. He sees a caution flag go up, so he slows at a rate of -1.5 m/s^2 in 10.8 s. What is his final velocity?

15.8 m/s

Explanation:

The following data were obtained from the question:

Initial velocity (u) = 32 m/s.

Acceleration (a) = – 1.5 m/s²

Time (t) = 10.8 s.

Final velocity (v) =?

Acceleration is simply defined as the rate of change of velocity with time. Mathematically, it is expressed as:

Acceleration (a) = [final velocity (v) – initial velocity (u)] / time (t)

a = (v – u) /t

With the above formula, we can obtain the final velocity of go-cart driver as follow:

Initial velocity (u) = 32 m/s.

Acceleration (a) = – 1.5 m/s²

Time (t) = 10.8 s.

Final velocity (v) =?

a = (v – u) /t

– 1.5 = (v – 32) / 10.8

Cross multiply

(v – 32) = –1.5 × 10.8

v – 32 = – 16.2

Collect like terms

v = – 16.2 + 32

v = 15.8 m/s

Therefore, the final velocity of go-cart driver is 15.8 m/s.