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Global Challenges

Stopping distance, acceleration and collision force calculations

  • 2 things to know
  • Paper 12 (Physics)

Overview

Adding thinking and braking distance to find a stopping distance, estimating thinking distance from speed and reaction time, estimating the accelerations and decelerations of cars, the resultant forces on an accelerating car and motorcycle and on a car in a crash, and why collision forces are so much larger than in ordinary driving.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Process

A driver's reaction time is 0.7 s and the car is travelling at 20 m/s. Estimate the thinking distance.

Process

Why are the forces in a collision so much larger than the forces in ordinary driving?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    A driver has a thinking distance of 15 m and a braking distance of 38 m. What is the overall stopping distance?

    Model answer

    53 m.

  2. 2

    A driver's reaction time is 0.7 s and the car is travelling at 20 m/s. Estimate the thinking distance.

    Model answer

    14 m, found by multiplying the speed by the reaction time.

  3. 3

    A car speeds up from rest to 24 m/s in 6 s. Estimate its acceleration.

    Model answer

    4 m/s².

  4. 4

    Estimate the resultant force on a 1000 kg car that is accelerating at 4 m/s².

    Model answer

    4000 N.

  5. 5

    A car travelling at 15 m/s is brought to rest in 0.1 s in a crash. Estimate the deceleration.

    Model answer

    150 m/s².

  6. 6

    Estimate the force on a 1000 kg car that decelerates at 150 m/s² in a collision.

    Model answer

    150000 N.

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