At the annual turtle races, Poindexter, the record holder, is trying to retain his title. As the race begins, Poindexter starts off racing North with a speed of 0.025 m/s. He retains this speed for 0.5 meters at which time he speeds up to 0.10 m/s. He continues at this rate for 0.75 meters. Tiring, he slows to 0.07 m/s and continues for another half of a meter. Applying all his concentration and effort for the last bit of the race he increases his speed to a swift 0.085 m/s. An exhausted Wood Turtle, Poindexter completes his two meter race beating his closest competitor by a nose.

A.In what amount of time did Poindexter run the race? (Show all your work.)
Time= Distance/Speed,
It was a 2 meter race= 0.5/.025=20, .75/.125=6, .5/.055=9.1, .25/0.085=2.9. 20+6+9.1+2.9=38seconds.

B.What was his average speed? (Show all your work.)
Average speed= total distance/ total time.
2/38=0.053m/s^2 Average Speed.

C.What was his displacement?
I have no idea?! Please help!

To find Poindexter's displacement, we need to determine the overall change in position in a specific direction. Displacement is a vector quantity that includes both magnitude (length) and direction.

In this scenario, Poindexter is racing north, so we can consider north as the positive direction.

Let's break down the race:

1. The distance traveled during the first part of the race is 0.5 meters. Since he starts at a speed of 0.025 m/s and maintains it, the time taken for this segment can be calculated as:
Time = Distance / Speed = 0.5 m / 0.025 m/s = 20 seconds
The displacement for this part is 0.5 meters north.

2. The next segment covers a distance of 0.75 meters. Here, he speeds up to 0.10 m/s. So the time taken for this part can be calculated as:
Time = Distance / Speed = 0.75 m / 0.10 m/s = 7.5 seconds
The displacement for this part is 0.75 meters north.

3. The third segment covers a distance of 0.5 meters. He slows down to 0.07 m/s. The time taken for this part can be calculated as:
Time = Distance / Speed = 0.5 m / 0.07 m/s = 7.14 seconds
The displacement for this part is 0.5 meters north.

4. The final segment covers a distance of 0.25 meters. He speeds up to 0.085 m/s. The time taken for this part can be calculated as:
Time = Distance / Speed = 0.25 m / 0.085 m/s = 2.94 seconds
The displacement for this part is 0.25 meters north.

To find the total displacement, we need to consider both the magnitude and direction. Since all segments are in the positive direction (north), we can add up the individual displacements to find the total displacement:

Total displacement = 0.5 m + 0.75 m + 0.5 m + 0.25 m = 2 meters north.

Hence, Poindexter's displacement in the race is 2 meters north.