Question
A supertanker travelling at 13ms^-1 decelerates at a rate of 0.03ms^-2 How long does it take to come to a complete stop?
Answer
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(258 Votes)
Russell
Elite · Tutor for 8 years
Answer
The supertanker will take approximately 433.33 seconds to come to a complete stop.
Explanation
## Step 1: Understand the problem: The problem belongs to the Physics topic of linear motion. We are asked to calculate the time taken by a supertanker to come to a complete stop, given that it is initially travelling at 13ms⁻¹ and is decelerating at the rate of 0.03 ms⁻².## Step 2: Know the formula: The formula to solve this problem is based on the kinematics equation of motion which is final speed = initial speed + (acceleration * time). But because this problem involves deceleration, it should be considered as a negative value. Also, since the tanker is coming to a complete stop, the final speed is zero. So the formula to solve for the time in such a case becomes ### time = (final speed - initial speed)/acceleration.## Step 3: Substitute the given values into the formula: The final speed is zero because it is coming to a stop, the initial speed is 13ms⁻¹, and it's decelerating at the rate of -0.03 ms⁻². Therefore, substituting these values into the formula gives:### time = (0 - 13) / -0.03 = 433.33 seconds, approximately.