Question

A three-wheeler starts from rest, accelerates uniformly with 1 m s^–2 on a straight road for 10 s, and then moves with uniform velocity. Plot the distance covered by the vehicle during the nth second (n = 1, 2, 3….) versus n. What do you expect this plot to be during accelerated motion: a straight line or a parabola?

Answer 1

Distance covered by a body in n^th second is given by the relation

Where,
u = Initial velocity a = Acceleration
n = Time = 1, 2, 3, ..... , n

In the given case, u = 0 and a = 1 m/s²

This relation shows that:

The plot between n and D_n will be a straight line as shown:

Since the given three-wheeler acquires uniform velocity after 10 s, the line will be parallel to the time-axis after n = 10 s.