A kitten pushes a ball of yarn rolling toward it at 1.00 cm/s with its nose, displacing the ball of yarn 17.5 cm in the opposite direction in 2.00 s. What is the acceleration of the ball of yarn?

Question

Physics

Bender

3 March, 22:08

A kitten pushes a ball of yarn rolling toward it at 1.00 cm/s with its nose, displacing the ball of yarn 17.5 cm in the opposite direction in 2.00 s. What is the acceleration of the ball of yarn?

+4

Answers (1)

Know the Answer?

Marques Richardson · Answer 1

The problem is very unclear. The way I understand it is like this:

The yarn is rolling toward the cat, and from the instant the cat first touches

the yarn, it moves 17.5 cm 2 sec, in the direction opposite to the way it was

rolling.

Average speed during the 2 seconds after the bump = 17.5 / 2 = 8.75 cm/s.

Average speed = (1/2) (final speed away from the cat - 1 cm/sec towards the cat)

8.75 cm/s = (1/2) (final speed + 1)

Multiply each side by 2:

17.5 = final speed + 1

Final speed = 16.5 cm/s

Acceleration = (change in speed) / (time for the change)

Acceleration = (16.5 + 1) / (20) = 0.875 cm/s².

My confidence level in this one is not excessive, but I'll submit it anyway,

and somebody else can explain to me where I went wrong.