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

6776 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Why does current split between branches of a parallel circuit, but voltage remains the same for each branch?


Describe how a stationary wave is formed at a boundary?


With the help of a suitably labelled graph, explain what is meant by resonance of a mechanical system.


Explain the gaps within an absorption spectrum and where this may commonly occur in the universe


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