Two cars A and B start moving with a constant acceleration from rest, in a straight line. Car A attains a velocity of 5 m s⁻¹ in 5 s. Car B attains a velocity of 3 m s⁻¹ in 10 s. Plot the velocity-time graphs for both the cars in the same graph. Using the graph, calculate the displacement in the two time intervals mentioned.
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Car A: \(a_A = \dfrac{5}{5} = 1\ \text{m s}^{-2}\); displacement in 5 s \(= \tfrac{1}{2}(5)(5) = 12.5\ \text{m}\).
Car B: \(a_B = \dfrac{3}{10} = 0.3\ \text{m s}^{-2}\); displacement in 10 s \(= \tfrac{1}{2}(3)(10) = 15\ \text{m}\).
Each displacement is the area of the triangle under that car’s line.