A car of mass 1500kg is travelling at 10 ms-1 along a horizontal road. A brake force of 3000N brings it to rest. Calculate the deceleration of the car and the distance travelled by the car whilst decelerating.

To calculate the deceleration of the car we must re-arrange F=ma to make a the subject of the formula, a = F/m. We then put in the numbers to get, 3000/1500, to get a deceleration of 2 ms^-2.
To get the distance the car has travelled we need to use one of our SUVAT equations. We know initial velocity, u = 10, the final velocity, v = 0 as the car is at rest, the acceleration, a = -2, and we want to find the distance, s. We therefore select the equation with these terms in which is v^2 = u^2 + 2as. We re-arrange to make s the subject of the formula, (v^2 - u^2)/2a = s, and sub in the numbers, to get -(10^2)/2*-2 = 25m.

Answered by Physics tutor

5444 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Derive an expression for wave speed in terms of wavelength and frequency.


How does a capacitor work and how do I treat it in a circuit?


Given that a light ray enters a glass prism at angle of 50 degrees from the normal and is refracted to an angle of 30 degrees from the normal, calculate the speed of light in glass.


A cylindrical specimen of material with diameter 1.5x10^-4 has a breaking stress of 1.3GPa. Calculate the tensile force acting on the specimen at breaking point.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences