Stopping distance of vehicles When brakes are applied to a moving vehicle, the distance it travels before stopping is called stopping distance. It is an important factor for road safety and depends on the initial velocity (v0) and the braking capacity, or deceleration that is caused by braking. A car travelling at speed 72km/hr suddenly applies the brake with the deceleration of 5m/s2. Find the stopping distance of the car.

Stopping distance = 40m

Explanation:

Given the following :

Initial speed of vehicle before applying brakes = 72km/hr

Converting km/hr to m/s:

72km/hr = [(72 * 1000)m] / (60 * 60)

72km/hr = 72,000m / 3600s

72km/hr = 20m/s

Deceleration after applying brakes (-a) (negative acceleration) = - 5m/s^2

From the 3rd equation of motion:

v^2 = u^2 + 2as

Where v = final Velocity ; u= Initial Velocity ; a = acceleration and s = distance

Final velocity when the car stops will be 0

Therefore ;

v^2 = u^2 + 2as

0 = 20^2 + 2(-5)(s)

0 = 400 - 10s

10s = 400

s = 400/10

s = 40m

Therefore, the stopping distance of the car = 40 meters