Careful measurements have been made of Olympic sprinters

Chapter 2, Problem 80CP

(choose chapter or problem)

Problem 80CP

Careful measurements have been made of Olympic sprinters in the 100-meter dash. A quite realistic model is that the sprinter’s velocity is given by

vx = a (1− e − ht )

where t is in s, vx is in m/s, and the constants a and b are characteristic of the sprinter. Sprinter Carl Lewis’s run at the 1987 World Championships is modeled with a = 11.81 m/s and b = 0.6887 s−1.

a. What was Lewis’s acceleration at t = 0 s, 2.00 s, and 4.00 s?

b. Find an expression for the distance traveled at lime t.

c. Your expression from part b is a transcendental equation, meaning that you can’t solve it for t.However, it’s not hard to use trial and error to find the time needed to travel a specific distance. To the nearest 0.01 s, find the time Lewis needed to sprint 100.0 m. His official time was 0.01 s more than your answer, showing that this model is very good, but not perfect.