Calculus 1 : How to find velocity

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for Calculus 1

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Example Questions

Example Question #361 : Spatial Calculus

The position of  is given by the following function: 

Find the velocity.

 

Possible Answers:

Answer not listed

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the velocity of a certain point, you first find the derivative of the position function to get the velocity function: 

In this case, the position function is: 

Then take the derivative of the position function to get the velocity function: 

Then, plug  into the velocity function: 

Therefore, the answer is: 

Example Question #362 : Spatial Calculus

The position of  is given by the following function: 

Find the velocity.

Possible Answers:

Answer not listed

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the velocity of a certain point, you first find the derivative of the position function to get the velocity function: 

In this case, the position function is: 

Then take the derivative of the position function to get the velocity function: 

Then, plug  into the velocity function: 

Therefore, the answer is: 

Example Question #363 : Spatial Calculus

The position of  is given by the following function: 

Find the velocity.

Possible Answers:

Answer not listed

Correct answer:

Explanation:

In order to find the velocity of a certain point, you first find the derivative of the position function to get the velocity function: 

In this case, the position function is: 

Then take the derivative of the position function to get the velocity function: 

Then, plug  into the velocity function: 

Therefore, the answer is: 

Example Question #362 : Spatial Calculus

If p(t) models the position of a guitar string as a function of time, find the function which models the string's velocity.

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If p(t) models the position of a guitar string as a function of time, find the function which models the string's velocity.

We start with position and are asked to find velocity. This means we are going to find the first derivative of p(t). 

Recall that the derivative of sine is cosine, and the derivative of a linear term is a constant.

With that in mind, we get the following:

Example Question #363 : Spatial Calculus

Find the velocity of the moving car at t=0.5 given the acceleration function and an initial velocity of 0:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the velocity of the moving car, we must integrate the acceleration function to get the velocity function:

The integral was found using the following rule:

Next, we can find C using the initial condition:

Rewriting the velocity function, we get

Finally, to solve for velocity at t=0.5, we simply plug this into the function:

Example Question #361 : How To Find Velocity

Find the average velocity of  from  to 

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

Average velocity is another name for slope. To find this we do:

Example Question #362 : How To Find Velocity

Determine the velocity function of a particle that's experiencing an acceleration  due to the electric field given by:

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find velocity from acceleration, we simply take the antiderivative:

Example Question #368 : Spatial Calculus

If p(t) models the position of a guitar string as a function of time, find the string's velocity when .

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

If p(t) models the position of a guitar string as a function of time, find the string's velocity when .

We start with position and are asked to find velocity. This means we are going to find the first derivative of p(t). 

Recall that the derivative of sine is cosine, and the derivative of a linear term is a constant.

With that in mind, we get the following:

However, we are not quite done. We need to find 

So, let's simplify. 

So our answer is -6.46

Example Question #366 : Spatial Calculus

When is the velocity zero for the function ?

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the velocity, take the derivative of the position function. To take the derivative, multiply the exponent by the coefficient in front of the x and then subtract one from the exponent to get: . Then set that equal to 0 to find where the velocity equals 0. .

Example Question #363 : How To Find Velocity

What is v(1) when

Possible Answers:

Correct answer:

Explanation:

To find the velocity function, take the derivative of the position function, which is Then, to find v(1), plug in 1 for t. Therefore your answer is: .

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