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

3089 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

What velocity should your boat have if you want to cross a 72m wide river in 6s by the shortest distance, with a 5 m/s downstream current?


How would you calculate the moment of a Force on a rigid object?


What is electromotive force (emf) and how can the emf of a battery be measured?


Describe the photoelectric effect and what it tells us about the properties of light .


We're here to help

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

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning