A zebra starts from rest and accelerates at #1.9# #m##/s^2#. How far has the zebra gone after #5# seconds?

1 Answer
Dec 10, 2016

Using formula dist = #1/2# * a * #t^2#, the zebra has gone 23.75 meters

Explanation:

At the end of the first second the zebra is going at 1.9 m/s.
At the end of the second second the zebra is going at 3.8 m/s
...
At the end of the fifth second the zebra is going at (#5 * 1.9 =#) 9.5 m/s
The zebra's Average Speed was (#9.5 / 2 =#) 4.75 m/s
Thus in 5 seconds the zebra has travelled (#5 * 4.75 =# ) 23.75 meters

The basic kinematics formulas to solve such problems is dist = #1/2# * a * #t^2#