Question
QUESTION TWO (15 MARKS)
(a) Consider a rock that is launched from the ground at a speed of
. Neglecting air
resistance, a well known formula from physics states that the position of the rock after
seconds is given by the function
. The position is measured in feet with
corresponding to the ground. Find the average velocity of the rock between each
pair of intervals given as
i)
and
,
ii)
and
,
iii) Make a conjecture regarding your observation in (i) and (ii),
(1 mark)
iv) By clearly showing your working evaluate
. 1 mark)
(2 marks)
(a) Consider a rock that is launched from the ground at a speed of
resistance, a well known formula from physics states that the position of the rock after
seconds is given by the function
pair of intervals given as
i)
ii)
iii) Make a conjecture regarding your observation in (i) and (ii),
(1 mark)
iv) By clearly showing your working evaluate
(2 marks)
Ask by Bright Schneider. in Kenya
Jan 20,2025
Upstudy AI Solution
Tutor-Verified Answer
Answer
Question Two (15 MARKS)
(a)
The position of the rock is given by
(in feet). To find the average velocity over different intervals, use the formula:
i) Between
sec and
sec
-
Calculate
: -
Calculate
: -
Average Velocity:
ii) Between
sec and
sec
-
Calculate
: -
Average Velocity:
iii) Conjecture
As the time interval decreases, the average velocity approaches 64 ft/sec, indicating the instantaneous velocity at
sec.
iv) Evaluating
This limit represents the derivative of
at
, giving the instantaneous velocity.
-
Difference Quotient:
-
Take the Limit:
Summary:
- i) Average velocity between 1 sec and 3 sec: 32 ft/sec
- ii) Average velocity between 1 sec and 1.00001 sec: 64 ft/sec
- iii) The average velocity approaches 64 ft/sec as the interval around
sec becomes smaller. - iv)
Solution

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To find the average velocity of the rock for each specified interval, we can use the formula for average velocity, which is given by:
In this case, for each pair of intervals, we will calculate
first.
i) For
sec and
sec:
Average velocity between
and
:
ii) For
sec and
sec:
Average velocity between
and
:
iii) From the observations in (i) and (ii) above, it can be conjectured that as the interval becomes smaller (from 2 seconds to 0.00001 seconds), the average velocity approaches the instantaneous velocity at
, which appears to be
, the original launch speed.
iv) To evaluate
, first find
again:
We can re-evaluate
:
Thus,
Now, compute the limit:
Factoring the numerator (using synthetic division or polynomial long division) gives:
Evaluating at
:
The limit evaluates to
. The negative sign indicates the rock is moving downward towards the ground at that instant.