Answer
(a) The car's average acceleration in second gear is $2 ~m/s^2$
(b) The car's average acceleration in fourth gear is $0.8 ~m/s^2$
Work Step by Step
Using the graph, we can estimate the following data.
(a) In second gear, the car accelerates from a speed of 14 m/s at 3 s, up to a speed of 24 m/s at 8 s.
$a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t} = \frac{24 ~m/s - 14 ~m/s}{8 ~s - 3 ~s} = 2 ~m/s^2$
The car's average acceleration in second gear is $2 ~m/s^2$
(b) In fourth gear, the car accelerates from a speed of 36 m/s at 17 s, up to a speed of 45 m/s at 28 s.
$a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t} = \frac{45 ~m/s - 36 ~m/s}{28 ~s - 17 ~s} = 0.8 ~m/s^2$
The car's average acceleration in fourth gear is $0.8 ~m/s^2$
