A negative acceleration is sometimes called a deceleration. What is the acceleration of a water rocket launched at 25m/s if it reaches its maximum height at 2.5s? (Note its speed at maximum height is zero!)

Question

A negative acceleration is sometimes called a deceleration. What is the acceleration of a water rocket launched at 25m/s if it reaches its maximum height at 2.5s? (Note its speed at maximum height is zero!)

Answer 1

To find the acceleration of the water rocket, we can use the equation of motion:

v = u + at

Where:
v is the final velocity (in this case, zero),
u is the initial velocity (25 m/s),
a is the acceleration we are looking for, and
t is the time taken (2.5 s).

Since the rocket reaches its maximum height and its velocity becomes zero, we can rewrite the equation as:

0 = 25 + a * 2.5

Now, let's solve for the acceleration (a).

Subtracting 25 from both sides, we get:

-25 = 2.5a

Dividing both sides by 2.5:

a = -10 m/s^2

So, the acceleration of the water rocket is -10 m/s². Since acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity, a negative acceleration indicates deceleration, which means the rocket is slowing down.