Math and physics guys, I need help figuring out acceleration and speed

Otherground
#1

So I know that the formula for acceleration is m/sec^2, but I need to figure out if you’re accelerating at a constant rate, what your speed would be at a certain amount of time.

For example if you’re in a space ship floating in space with its magical engines off, and you engage the engines so that it immediately moves the ship at a continuous acceleration of 100m/sec^2, and the engines totally disengage at the 100 second mark so it’s no longer accelerating, what will be the speed of the ship coasting in space from that point?

And if the ship were to try to reach light speed (let’s forget about Relativity for this hypothetical math scene), how many seconds does it need to continuously accelerate at 100m/sec^2 before it can reach light speed and shut off its engines to coast at that speed?

#2

Can’t help ya bud. Not done maths for 15 years+ I can just about tell if I get the correct change at the store

1 Like
#3

V_final = V_initial + a * t

Solve for t to answer your second question.

2 Likes
#4

10,000 m/s speed after 100 seconds.

It would take 2,997,924.58 seconds to accelerate to the speed of light with a steady acceleration of 100m/s^2 with no other factors accounted for.

Which is about 34.6 days.

Don’t trust any of my math, I haven’t done a physics problem in over 11 years. Isaac Newton touched boy butts.

2 Likes
#5

bout tree fiddy

1 Like
#6

Thanks guys. That formula for Velocity was what I needed.

#7

I took physics last summer huuuuge mistake to do that in a 6 week 5 day a week class. I believe the equation is V=Vo+AT

You know the variables except T so plug and solve.

3 Likes
#8

acceleration is the derivative of velocity (speed)

#9

Why’d you take physics? Seems random … but I know nothing about you.