Consider a particle moving along a line with acceleration and initial velocity given by

\begin{align*} a(t) &= 1-2t\\ v(0) &= 6 \end{align*}

for \(0\leq t\leq 4\).

The velocity function of the particle as a function of \(t\) is

\[ v(t) = \answer {6-t^2+t}. \]

The total distance that the particle travels on the interval \([0,4]\) is \(\answer {\frac {49}{3}}\).

Note \(\displaystyle v(t)=-(t-3)(t+2)\) Therefore, \(v\) is positive on \([0,3)\) and negative on \((3,4]\).