# Math Help - Acceleration Velocity problem

1. ## Acceleration Velocity problem

It was a rather long problem, so I'm going to sum it up:
Some company made this racing game (Cars race around an 800 meter track and tries to avoid incidents such as other players equiped with penguin mines and flippy wet fish), but turns out, when the player competes against the computer, it's too easy.

At what rate must the cars accelerate so players are forced to use skill to maneuver around obstacles?

Acceleration is constant without any obstacles
The goal is to avoid players from making it around the track in under 20 seconds, assuming the player starts at rest.

What constant must be used for the cars' acceleration?

2. have you listed all the information given

3. Essentially, yes. Most of the problem is "fluff". I've been having trouble with this one. I can try and send you the entire word problem to you, if that's okay.

4. Originally Posted by Kimmy2
It was a rather long problem, so I'm going to sum it up:
Some company made this racing game (Cars race around an 800 meter track and tries to avoid incidents such as other players equiped with penguin mines and flippy wet fish), but turns out, when the player competes against the computer, it's too easy.

At what rate must the cars accelerate so players are forced to use skill to maneuver around obstacles?

Acceleration is constant without any obstacles
The goal is to avoid players from making it around the track in under 20 seconds, assuming the player starts at rest.

What constant must be used for the cars' acceleration?
.

5. Originally Posted by mathaddict
HI

using s=ut+1/2at^2 , where s=800 , t=20 , u=0 , and find a .

So the car must accelerate at this value of a to go round the track in 20 s .
The snag is that if the cars "race around an 800 meter track" then this formula is not valid because it's not straightline motion.

6. I'm thinking that there can't be a single right answer. But the problem seems to be created in a way that makes me believe that there is one right answer.