A car travels in a straight line at a constant speed of 20 m/s for 5 s. What is the acceleration of the car?

Rationale

The acceleration of the car is 0.

Since the car is traveling at a constant speed of 20 m/s without changing its velocity, it experiences no acceleration. Acceleration is defined as the rate of change of velocity over time, and in this scenario, the velocity remains constant.

A (100 m) YOUR ANSWER

This choice represents a distance traveled rather than an acceleration. To find the distance, one would multiply speed by time (20 m/s × 5 s = 100 m), but distance does not indicate acceleration.

B (20 m/s) YOUR ANSWER

This choice incorrectly identifies speed as acceleration. While 20 m/s is indeed the constant speed of the car, acceleration requires a change in velocity over time, which is not present in this case.

C (4 m/s²) YOUR ANSWER

This choice suggests a non-zero acceleration, which is incorrect. Acceleration of 4 m/s² would imply that the car's velocity is changing at this rate, but since the car maintains a constant speed, there is no acceleration.

D (0) CORRECT

This correctly indicates that the car's acceleration is zero. With no change in speed or direction, the car's velocity remains constant at 20 m/s, resulting in zero acceleration.

Conclusion

In this scenario, the car's constant speed indicates that there is no acceleration acting upon it. Acceleration only occurs when there is a change in velocity, which is not the case here. Thus, the car's acceleration is definitively 0, affirming its steady motion in a straight line.

A car travels in a straight line at a constant speed of 20 m/s for 5 s. What is the acceleration of the car?

The acceleration of the car is 0.

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