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You are driving your 1500 kg car at 20 m/s down a hill with a 5.0° slope when a deer suddenly jumps out onto the roadway. You slam on your brakes, skidding to a stop. How far do you skid before stopping if the kinetic friction force between your tires and the road is 1.2 * 104 N? Solve this problem using conservation of energy.

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User Padn
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2 Answers

1 vote

Final answer:

To solve this problem using conservation of energy, calculate the initial kinetic energy of the car and the work done by the friction force to bring the car to a stop. Set the work done equal to the negative change in kinetic energy and solve for the distance.

Step-by-step explanation:

To solve this problem using conservation of energy, we can start by calculating the initial kinetic energy of the car. The kinetic energy is given by the formula KE = (1/2) * mass * velocity^2. Plugging in the values, we have KE = (1/2) * 1500 kg * (20 m/s)^2 = 300,000 J.

Next, we need to calculate the work done by the friction force to bring the car to a stop. The work done is given by the formula work = force * distance. Plugging in the values, we have work = (1.2 * 10^4 N) * distance. Since the car comes to a stop, the work done by the friction force is equal to the negative change in kinetic energy: -300,000 J.

Simplifying the equation, we have (1.2 * 10^4 N) * distance = -300,000 J. Solving for distance, we find that distance = -300,000 J / (1.2 * 10^4 N) = -25 meters.

Since distance cannot be negative, we take the absolute value of the distance, giving us a skid distance of 25 meters.

answered
User Judyta
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4 votes

The car skids a distance of
\(25 \, \text{m}\) before coming to a stop.

Using the conservation of energy, we can find the distance the car skids before stopping.

The initial kinetic energy
(\(KE_i\)) of the car is converted into work done against friction to bring the car to a stop. The work done against friction will be equal to the initial kinetic energy.

The initial kinetic energy of the car
(\(KE_i\)) is given by:


\[KE_i = (1)/(2)mv^2\]

where:

m = mass of the car = 1500 kg

v = initial velocity = 20 m/s


\[KE_i = (1)/(2) * 1500 \, \text{kg} * (20 \, \text{m/s})^2\]


\[KE_i = (1)/(2) * 1500 \, \text{kg} * 400 \, \text{m}^2/\text{s}^2\]


\[KE_i = 300,000 \, \text{J}\]

This initial kinetic energy is equal to the work done against friction:


\[Work = KE_i\]

The work done against friction (Work) is given by the force of friction multiplied by the distance (d):


\[Work = \text{Friction force} * d\]


\[300,000 \, \text{J} = (1.2 * 10^4 \, \text{N}) * d\]

Solving for d:


\[d = \frac{300,000 \, \text{J}}{1.2 * 10^4 \, \text{N}}\]


\[d = 25 \, \text{m}\]