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

6708 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

A ball is launched from ground level at 5m/s at an angle of 30 degrees above the horizontal. What is its height above ground level at the highest point in its trajectory?


State Faraday's Law of electromagnetic induction, both qualitatively and quantitatively. How is Lenz's Law included in this? (4 marks)


What's the difference between Potential Difference and Electromotive Force


How and why does a geostationary satellite stay above the same point on the Earths surface?


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:

© 2026 by IXL Learning