Calculus 1 : How to find position

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #931 : Spatial Calculus

Given that the final acceleration is, and that the final position is  with a velocity of after 10 seconds, find the initial position at

Possible Answers:

 

Correct answer:

Explanation:

We have to start from acceleration and integrate back to position to determine the initial position at .

 

Since we know that the velocity at  is , we plug it in to determine the initial velocity

Now that we know the function for velocity, we can integrate it to find position

Since we also know that at  that the position is at , we use it to find initial position at 

 

Therefore, at t=0, the initial position is 1194m. 

Example Question #932 : Spatial Calculus

Find the position equation of the particle, given the following information:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the position equation, we must integrate the velocity function and then plug in the initial condition to solve for C:

We used the following rules for integration:

Now, plug in t=0 into the position equation and solve for C:

Thus, C=0, and our final answer is

Example Question #933 : Spatial Calculus

The velocity of a particle is given by the function .

If the particle has an initial position of , what is its position at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The position function can be found by integrating the velocity function with respect to time:

Velocity is given as:

So the position function is:

The integration of constant is found by using the initial condition provided:

Therefore

Example Question #934 : Spatial Calculus

The velocity of a particle is given by the function . If the particle has an initial position of , what will its position be at time  ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Position can be found by integrating velocity with respect to time:

For the velocity function

The position function is:

The constant of integration can be found by using the initial condition:

So the definite integral is:

 

Example Question #935 : Spatial Calculus

Find the position function of a ball thrown by a person  tall if it's initial velocity is  and its acceleration is .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The position function of an object moving with uniform acceleration is , where  is the inital position of the object,  is the inital velocity of the object and  is the acceleration of the object.

 

For this problem:

Example Question #936 : Spatial Calculus

Find the position of a ball after  seconds if it is thrown by a person  tall and its initial velocity is  and its acceleration is .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the position of the object after a certain time, we first must find the position function of the object, then solve the position function at that given time.

The position function of an object moving with uniform acceleration is , where  is the inital position of the object,  is the inital velocity of the object and  is the acceleration of the object.

 

For this problem:

After  seconds, the ball has travelled  meters.

Example Question #941 : Spatial Calculus

Find the position function of a rocket shot from the ground if its initial velocity is  and its acceleration is .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The position function of an object moving with uniform acceleration is , where  is the inital position of the object,  is the inital velocity of the object and  is the acceleration of the object.

 

For this problem:

Example Question #82 : How To Find Position

A ball is thrown straight upward from ground level. It has an initial velocity of . At what time will the ball reach its maximum height?

Use  to approximate acceleration due to gravity.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

The ball's acceleration will simply be its acceleration due to gravity, approximated with .

Integrating the acceleration function will leave you with the function for velocity.

You know that  has an initial velocity of ., so . Use this to find the value of the integration constant, .

Therefore, our velocity funciton is 

 Finding the zero of the velocity function will give local extrema of the position function. 

Since the velocity of the ball changes from positive to negative about , this is a local maximum. Therefore, the ball will reach its maximum height when .

Example Question #83 : How To Find Position

A vehicle at a position of . It accelerates from rest according to the acceleration function, 

where  is time (in seconds).

Find the function representing the vehicle's position.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Integrating the acceleration function will result in the function representing the vehicle's velocity. To integrate this function use the rule 

.

Therefore,

.

You know that the vehicle begins at rest, so . Use this to find the value of the integration constant, .

Therefore, our velocity funciton is 

 

Integrating the velocity function will result in the function representing the vehicle's position.

 

You know that the vehicle begins at a position of , so .

Use this to find the value of the integration constant.

 

 

Therefore, 

Example Question #84 : How To Find Position

An ant is moving with a velocity given by the following function:

What is the position function of the ant?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the position function of the ant, we must integrate the velocity function:

The integration was performed using the following rules:

.

 

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