In some SUVAT questions, they ask for 2 time solutions and I can only find 1. What am I missing?

Let's say we are trying to work out how long it will take for a ball to be caught after it has been thrown straight upwards. If we set the final displacement to be zero (S=0) and solve S=UT+0.5AT2, it appears that we only get one value for T. However, there will always be a step in your workings when you can cancel a T from both sides of the equation, for example: 5T2 = 100T can be simplified to 5T = 100. In this step, we miss out a solution that T=0! This corresponds to when the ball is just about to be thrown so is still in our hands (hence we have a solution for zero displacement!)

CI
Answered by Christopher I. Physics tutor

2966 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

In the photoelectric effect, what happens as you increase the frequency of light keeping the same intensity constant?


Why does a small puddle of water evaporate at room temperature, even though the temperature is way below the boiling point of water?


A rock has a mass of 100g and it is thrown across a pond at a speed of 30ms^-1. Calculate the de Broglie wavelength of the rock and explain whether you can see the wave produced.


What is the total energy of a spaceship of mass m, orbiting a planet of mass M in a circular orbit with radius r? The ship and the planet are taken to be an isolated system.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences