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View Full Version : About a train traveling, its very confusing


snipaj9696
Aug 31, 2007, 07:32 PM
A commuter train travels between two downtown stations. Because the stations are only 1.18 km apart, the train never reaches its maximum possible cruising speed. During rush hour the engineer minimizes the travel interval t between the two stations by accelerating for a time interval t1 at a1 = 0.100 m/s2 and then immediately braking with acceleration a2 = -0.360 m/s2 for a time interval t2. Find the minimum time interval of travel t and the time interval t1.

colbtech
Sep 4, 2007, 12:53 AM
t1=136s, t2=38s... I think! I'm sure there is a relatively simple formula for calculating these types of problems. All I did was add .1 every second to a value and then subtracted .36 every second until I got the right answer. What have you got?