A cyclist starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to 12 m/s in 3 s. What is the acceleration?

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Multiple Choice

A cyclist starts from rest and accelerates uniformly to 12 m/s in 3 s. What is the acceleration?

Explanation:
Acceleration is how quickly velocity changes. With uniform acceleration, a = Δv / Δt. The cyclist starts from rest, so u = 0, and after 3 seconds the velocity is 12 m/s, giving Δv = 12 − 0 = 12 m/s. So a = 12 m/s ÷ 3 s = 4 m/s^2. A quick check: each second the speed would rise by 4 m/s, reaching 4, then 8, then 12 m/s after 1, 2, and 3 seconds respectively. If the acceleration were different, the speed after 3 seconds wouldn’t be 12 m/s (for example, 3 m/s^2 would give 9 m/s after 3 s, and 6 m/s^2 would give 18 m/s). The 4 m/s^2 rate matches the given data.

Acceleration is how quickly velocity changes. With uniform acceleration, a = Δv / Δt. The cyclist starts from rest, so u = 0, and after 3 seconds the velocity is 12 m/s, giving Δv = 12 − 0 = 12 m/s. So a = 12 m/s ÷ 3 s = 4 m/s^2. A quick check: each second the speed would rise by 4 m/s, reaching 4, then 8, then 12 m/s after 1, 2, and 3 seconds respectively. If the acceleration were different, the speed after 3 seconds wouldn’t be 12 m/s (for example, 3 m/s^2 would give 9 m/s after 3 s, and 6 m/s^2 would give 18 m/s). The 4 m/s^2 rate matches the given data.

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