A car of mass 1000 kg is travelling at 20 (m/s). The car crashes into a tree, and comes to a complete halt in 0.05s. Calculate the force acting on the car during the collision.

We are asked for the force acting on the car and we know from Newton's second law that F = ma Therefore, we need to calculate the acceleration first. We use a = (vf - vo)/(t - to) where vf = final speed, vo = initial speed, t = final time and to = initial time. With all that, we have a = -20/0.05 = -400 m/(s^2)F = 1000 * (-400) = -400000 N

PM
Answered by Pablo M. Physics tutor

3239 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What is centripetal force?


Explain the difference between a real and a virtual image.


What is the life cycle of a star?


What is the equation of an accelerated body moving in one dimension?


We're here to help

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

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning