Starting from rest, a train travels with a constant acceleration of 2.0 m/s ^2 for half a minute. Subsequently, the brakes are applied, bringing the train to rest in one minute. Determine the maximum speed attained by the train in m/s.

Step-by-step solution

The train starts from rest, so initial velocity u = 0 . The acceleration is a = 2.0 m/s ^2 for a time t = 0.5 min = 30 s . The maximum speed is reached at the end of the acceleration phase. Using the equation of kinematics v = u + at : v = 0 + 2.0 30 = 60 m/s