Zoe, Jonah, Michael 8-5 

Acceleration Word Problem 

 
Paragraph with citations~ 
 
1.) During a race two dogsleds head towards the finish line. At 6:25​(5)​ pm 
the first dog passes the halfway point after going 250 miles​(4)​. It takes 2 
hours for the first dog to reach halfway​(2)​. It takes 5 hours for the 
second​(2)​. During the last few miles of the expedition polar bear cubs 
appear out of nowhere and scare the contestants half to death​(5)​. The 
race is abruptly ends after 10 hours of competing when the mama bear 
chases the contestants off of the course, where they plummet down a 
cliff​(3)(1)​. Helicopters rush to their attention before it is too late​(5)​.  
 
Paragraph without citations~ 
 
2.) During a race two dogsleds head towards the finish line. At 6:25 pm 
the first dog passes the halfway point after going 250 miles. It takes 2 
hours for the first dog to reach halfway. It takes 5 hours for the second. 
During the last few miles of the expedition polar bear cubs appear out 
of nowhere and scare the contestants half to death. The race is abruptly 
ends after 10 hours of competing when the mama bear chases the 
contestants off of the course, where they plummet down a cliff. 
Helicopters rush to their attention before it is too late.  
 
 
Questions for the readers: 
1.)What is another term for negative acceleration ​and​ provide an 
example of it in the article provided? 
2.)Which (object) in the article provided has a greater rate of 
acceleration than the other (object)? Provide Evidence to support your 
answer 
3.)What term and or phrase did the writer use in the article to imply 
that (an object) is at rest, as in it is not moving? 
4.)What (2 pieces of information) does the writer include in the article 
that are irrelevant and or misleading, as in neither can be used to solve 
for speed or acceleration? 
 
4.) Picture  

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
5.) Screenshot of newspaper article 
 

 
 
 
 
6.) Answer Key 
 
What is another term for negative acceleration ​and​ provide an example 
of it in the article provided? 
Deceleration is another term for negative acceleration. In the article 
it shows negative acceleration by having the dogsleds go from an 
average acceleration to at rest as they get chased by a polar bear and 
plummet over a cliff to an abrupt ending. 
 
Which (object) in the article provided has a greater rate of acceleration 
than the other (object)? Provide Evidence to support your answer  
The first dog has a higher rate of acceleration than the second dog. 
The first dog reached the halfway point at 2 hours, while the second 
dog reached it at 5 hours. After finding the speed of 125 miles from 
the first dog and 50 miles from the seconds these numbers should be 
minused it from the initial speed of 0 mph. Then divide the answer by 
10 hours to find the final acceleration. The First dog accelerates -12.5 
mph​2​ while the second dog has an acceleration of -5 mph​2​ from the 
halfway point to the abrupt ending.  
 
What term and or phrase did the writer use in the article to imply that 
(an object) is at rest, as in it is not moving? 
The phrase the writer used to imply that (an object) is at rest is both 
contestants fall off a cliff where they plummet to their almost death. 
At the bottom of the cliff they are lying at rest waiting for help. 
 
What (2 pieces of information) does the writer include in the article 
that are irrelevant and or misleading, as in neither can be used to solve 
for speed or acceleration? 
The two irrelevant pieces of information are the times included in 
the article such as the first dog reached the halfway point at 6:25 pm. 
Also that the polar bear scares the contestants half to death. Lastly 
the Helicopters coming to the rescue isn’t needed information.