A few days ago
Anonymous

Calculus A instantaneous velocity question — help please!!?

The position of a cat running from a dog down a dark alley is given by the values of the table.

t(seconds) 0 1 2 3 4 5

s(feet) 0 14 25 56 81 118

Estimate the instantaneous velocity when t=2.

I don’t know what’s wrong with me, but for some reason I’m not getting this answer right. I’m probably just overthinking it lol but help would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Top 1 Answers
A few days ago
norcekri

Favorite Answer

I’m with you. The cat’s position function does not permit smooth analysis. The first differences (speed) are

14 11 31 25 37

The second differences (acceleration*2) are

-3 20 -6 12

This means that the cat is alternately accelerating and decelerating, with no particular pattern established with the given data. This makes it a matter of educated guessing, rather than rational derivation, to give the instantaneous velocity. Perhaps some central measure (arithmetic or geometric mean?) of 11 and 31 would satisfy the problem, but I would bet so much as a surplus mouse on the answer’s accuracy.

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