This is the question to one of my physic problem.

A person standing outside their house is passed by a runner heading West at a steady pace of 3.3 m/s. Right when the runner passes by, the person accelerates towards the south at a rate of 0.36 m/s2 for 1.2 seconds. Determine how far apart the people are when t = 1.2 seconds.

I tried distance = 1/2at^2 but that did not work. Any help would be greatly appreaciated

I used the equation above since the initial velocity was 0 same goes for the initial distance. For some reason it is wrong.

They are traveling at right angles.

distance=sqrt(W^2+S^2) where W, S are the distances west, and south.

distanceW=3.3*1.2
distanceS=1/2 .36*1.2^2

solve for distance from the first relation above.

post it.

To solve this problem, we need to use the equations of motion. Let's break down the given information:

1. The runner is heading west at a steady pace of 3.3 m/s.
2. The person standing outside their house accelerates towards the south at a rate of 0.36 m/s² for 1.2 seconds.

Now, let's find the distance traveled by each person separately.

For the runner:
The runner's velocity is given as 3.3 m/s, and the time taken is t = 1.2 seconds. We can use the equation:

Distance = Velocity × Time

So, the distance traveled by the runner would be:
Distance(runner) = 3.3 m/s × 1.2 s

Now, let's determine the distance traveled by the person standing outside their house.

For the person standing outside their house:
The person's initial velocity is 0 m/s (since they're stationary) and the time taken is t = 1.2 seconds. The acceleration of the person is given as 0.36 m/s². We can use the equation:

Distance = Initial Velocity × Time + 0.5 × Acceleration × Time²

The initial velocity is 0 m/s, so the equation simplifies to:

Distance(person) = 0.5 × Acceleration × Time²

Substituting the given values:
Distance(person) = 0.5 × 0.36 m/s² × (1.2 s)²

Finally, to find the distance between the two people at t = 1.2 seconds, we subtract the distance traveled by the person from the distance traveled by the runner:

Distance(apart) = Distance(runner) - Distance(person)

By plugging in the respective values, you can calculate the distance between the two people when t = 1.2 seconds.