Below is a diagram of a train that uniformly accelerates from
rest to point A, and then travels at a constant speed. Students are
asked to calculate the acceleration of the train before reaching
point A using the distances and times given. Do
not provide them with the
kinematic equations.
Students who suffer from this difficulty will tend to arbitrarily
divide one of the distances by one of the times to arrive at a
velocity. They will then divide by time again (perhaps the same time
interval, perhaps the other) to arrive at an "acceleration."
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