MathDB

A particle of unit mass moves on a straight line under the action of a force which is a function

f(v)

of the velocity

v

of the particle, but the form of the function is not known. A motion is observed, and the distance

x

covered in time

t

satisfies the formula

x= at^2 + bt+c

, where

a,b,c

have numerical values determined by observation of the motion. Find the function

f(v)

for the range of

v

covered by the experiment.

Problem Statement