Calculating Football Player Acceleration: Change in Direction

To find the acceleration of the running back, we need to calculate the change in velocity and divide it by the time taken.

Initially, the running back is moving north at 4.5 m/s. After 8 seconds, the running back changes direction and starts moving south at 4.5 m/s.

The change in velocity is the final velocity minus the initial velocity. Since the final velocity is in the opposite direction, we can consider it as a negative value. Therefore, the change in velocity is:

Change in velocity = (4.5 m/s south) - (4.5 m/s north) = -4.5 m/s - 4.5 m/s = -9 m/s

Now, we can calculate the acceleration using the formula:

Acceleration = Change in velocity / Time

Acceleration = (-9 m/s) / (8 s) Acceleration = -1.125 m/sﾲ

The acceleration of the running back during that time is -1.125 m/sﾲ. Note that the negative sign indicates that the acceleration is in the opposite direction of the initial motion.