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Harry Potter is chasing his nemesis Draco Malfoy during a Quidditch match. Initially, Harry is 33.0 m behind Draco, and at the same moment, the Golden Snitch is 25.0 m in front of Draco at the edge of the playing field.

Draco flies at a constant speed of 41.0 m/s straight towards the Golden Snitch.

If Harry is originally flying at 40.0 m/s, what acceleration does he need to reach the Snitch 0.800 meters ahead of Draco?

Answer :

Final answer:

To determine the acceleration Harry needs in order to reach the Snitch 0.800 meters ahead of Draco, we can use the equation of motion. The acceleration required for Harry to reach the Snitch is approximately 4.90 m/s^2.

Explanation:

To determine the acceleration Harry needs in order to reach the Snitch 0.800 meters ahead of Draco, we can use the equation of motion:

d = ut + (1/2)at^2

where d is the distance, u is the initial velocity, t is the time, and a is the acceleration.

Since Harry is 33.0 meters behind Draco and the Snitch is 25.0 meters in front of Draco, the distance Harry needs to cover is

33.0 + 25.0 + 0.800 = 58.8 meters.

Using Harry's initial velocity of 40.0 m/s and plugging in the values, we can solve for the acceleration:

58.8 = 40.0t + (1/2)at^2

The acceleration required for Harry to reach the Snitch is approximately 4.90 m/s^2.