A cyclist riding along a straight road passes a series of roadside markers. The cyclist’s front wheel hub is photographed as it passes each marker, producing the position data shown.
Marker number n: 0 1 2 3 4 5
Time t (s): 0.0 2.5 5.0 7.5 10.0 12.5
Position x (m): 0 14 28 42 56 70
Assume that the hub’s position accurately represents the position of the bicycle–cyclist system.
(1) Determine the cyclist’s displacement between t=0.0s and t=12.5s. Include the proper sign and units.
(2) Calculate the average velocity over the same time interval.
(3) Using an appropriate pair of successive data points, compute an estimate of the cyclist’s instantaneous velocity at t=6.25s. State clearly which points you use and justify the choice.
(4) Based on your results, state whether the cyclist’s motion is uniformly accelerated, uniformly paced, or neither. Support your answer with quantitative evidence from parts (b) and (c).