Example 2
- Author:
- Walch Education
- Topic:
- Function Graph
The graph models the distance, , traveled by a speeding car moving at a constant rate of 80 miles per hour, and the distance covered by a state patrol car, , until the patrol car intercepts the speeding car after 5 seconds (). The general equations for the cars are for the speeding car and for the state patrol car, in which is the acceleration in miles per second squared. Write the specific equations for the two distances at a time of 5 seconds, and determine appropriate horizontal and vertical axis scales on the graph to reflect the given problem conditions.
- Determine how to calculate the distance traveled by the speeding car in 5 seconds.
- Calculate the speed of the speeding car in miles per second.
- Use the result of step 2 to calculate the distance covered by the speeding car in 5 seconds.
- Use the distance covered by the speeding car in 5 seconds to find the acceleration of the state patrol car.
- Write the specific equation for the speeding car’s function in terms of the value for found in step 2.
- Write the specific equation for the state patrol car’s function in terms of the result of step 4.
- Determine an appropriate scale for the graph’s horizontal axis in order to fit the conditions of the problem.
- Determine an appropriate scale for the vertical axis in order to fit the conditions of the problem.