Question

(a) Calculate the force (in N) needed to bring a 1100 kg car to rest from a speed of 85.0 km/h in a distance of 125 m (a fairly typical distance for a non-panic stop). (b) Suppose instead the car hits a concrete abutment at full speed and is brought to a stop in 2.00 m. Calculate the force exerted on the car and compare it with the force found in part (a).

Answer 1

(a) -2451 N

We can start by calculating the acceleration of the car. We have:

$u=85.0 km/h = 23.6 m/s$ is the initial velocity

v = 0 is the final velocity of the car

d = 125 m is the stopping distance

So we can use the following equation

$v^2 - u^2 = 2ad$

To find the acceleration of the car, a:

$a=\frac{v^2-u^2}{2d}=\frac{0-(23.6 m/s)^2}{2(125 m)}=-2.23 m/s^2$

Now we can use Newton's second Law:

F = ma

where m = 1100 kg to find the force exerted on the car in order to stop it; we find:

$F=(1100 kg)(-2.23 m/s^2)=-2451 N$

and the negative sign means the force is in the opposite direction to the motion of the car.

(b) $-1.53\cdot 10^5 N$

We can use again the equation

$v^2 - u^2 = 2ad$

To find the acceleration of the car. This time we have

$u=85.0 km/h = 23.6 m/s$ is the initial velocity

v = 0 is the final velocity of the car

d = 2.0 m is the stopping distance

Substituting and solving for a,

$a=\frac{v^2-u^2}{2d}=\frac{0-(23.6 m/s)^2}{2(2 m)}=-139.2 m/s^2$

So now we can find the force exerted on the car by using again Newton's second law:

$F=ma=(1100 kg)(-139.2 m/s^2)=-1.53\cdot 10^5 N$

As we can see, the force is much stronger than the force exerted in part a).