2.9.

2 Project: Solving the Skid-Distance Problem

The Scenario:​ You're a private investigator working for an insurance

company. You've been hired to research a car accident and determine
who was at fault.

The Project:​ Use the information provided in the performance task to

analyze the accident and prepare a report for the insurance company.

I. What's the Problem?​ ​8 points

Your job as investigator is to determine who caused this accident. Is the driver responsible, or is the
farmer responsible? Read the accounts of the accident, and then answer the following questions.

1. Why is the driver unhappy? According to the driver, what caused the accident? (​4 points​)

The driver is unhappy because she was coming around a curve and almost hit a cow.
According to the driver it was the cow being in the middle of the road

2. Why is the farmer unhappy? According to the farmer, was the accident avoidable? (​4 points​)

The farmer was unhappy because he was trying to bring the cow back and waved to the driver to
let her know he was there. But she was speeding and going way too fast. The accident was
avoidable if she wasn’t speeding.

Now that we know what we're looking for, let's gather some information!
II. What Do the Experts Say?​ ​14 points

3. According to the automotive engineer, what two quantities will you need to compare in order to
decide whether the driver could have prevented the accident? (​4 points​)

The two quantities are stopping distance and visibility distance

4. According to the professional driver, what are the three parts that make up the total stopping
distance? (​3 points:​ 1 point for each blank)

total stopping distance = _____ + _____ + _____

Total stopping distance = reaction distance+brake engagement braking distance= Total

stopping distance

5. According to the math professor, what is the skid-distance formula (incorporating braking
efficiency)? (​4 points​)

speed= sqrt(30*drag factor*skid distance*braking efficiency)

6. What other formula did the professor provide? How can it help you find the distance? ​(3 points)

distance= speed*time

These formulas use several different variables. Find the values by gathering data about the crash.

Drag factor= 0.90

Skid distance= 45 feet
braking efficiency= 80%

III. Gathering the Data​ ​18 points

 The
Driver

7. What did the highway patrol officer tell you about the driver's reaction time? (​2 points​)

The driver had a 1.5 seconds reaction time with the speed she was going

Vehicle
Inspection

To help prepare the report, you need to gather information about the car.

8. What did the mechanic say the brake engagement time was? (​2 points​)

Three tenths of a second

9. What did the mechanic find the braking efficiency to be? (​2 points​)

80%
10. What is the visibility range of the headlight low beams? High beams? (​2 points:​ 1 point for each
value)

Low beams project 180 feet

High beams project 450 feet

The Crash
Site

11. Fill in the chart with the information you gathered about the crash site. (​10 points:​ 2 points for
each value)

Posted speed limit 35MPH

Drag factor of the road 0.90

Length of the skid marks 45 feet

 From how far away could the driver see the cow? 150 feet away

How fast was the driver going when she hit the fence? 15MPH

Now that you've collected all the information that you need, you can find the total stopping distance.

IV. Calculations​ ​50 points

Initial Speed

You are trying to find the total stopping distance, but according to the professor's equation, you need to
know the initial speed and time to find the distance.

To find the driver's initial speed, you need to find out how long the skid marks would have been if the car
had not crashed into the fence. In other words, what would have been the total skid distance required to
come to a complete stop?

Second Skid Distance

12. If the car had not hit the fence, how much farther would it have skidded? Solve the skid-distance
formula to find the extra distance that the car would have traveled if it had not hit the fence. Round
your answer to two decimal places. Note that unit conversion is built into the skid distance formula, so
no unit conversions are needed. (​10 points:​ 2 points for the formula, 6 points for the calculation, 2
points for the answer)

speed= sqrt (30*0.90*45*80%)

Sqrt (40*0.90*45*⅘)

Sqrt 1080*0.9

Sqrt 972

Sqrt 3^5*2^2

Sqrt 3^4*2^2*3

Sqrt 3 sqrt 2^2 sqrt 3^4

2sqrt3 sqrt 3^4

 3^2 * 2sqrt 3

18 sqrt 3

18*1.73205

31.17691

Restate your answer for question 12 in the context of the problem.

Total Skid Distance

13. If the car had not crashed into the fence, it would have skidded approximately another _____
before it came to a complete stop. (​2 points​)

Answer: 31 feet

14. How long would the skid marks have been if the car had not crashed into the fence? (​3 points​)

76 feet

Initial Speed

15. Now that you know the total skid distance, use the skid-distance formula to find how fast the car
was going before it started skidding. (​10 points:​ 2 points for the formula, 6 points for the calculation,
2 points for the answer)

speed= sqrt (30*0.90*76*80%)

Sqrt (30*0.9*76*⅘)

Sqrt 1824*0.9

Sqrt 1641.6

40.51666

Restate your answer in the context of the problem.

16. The car was traveling ​40​ mph before it started skidding. (​2 points​)

17. Was the driver going over the posted speed limit before she started braking? (​2 points​)

yes

Car Stopping Distance

Could the driver have stopped in time to not hit the cow? You will need your equations from questions 5
and 6 to find out. But first, you will need to make sure your values all use the same units. Right now, you
have a distance that is measured in feet and a time that is measured in seconds, but a speed that is
measured in miles per hour!

Conversion of miles per hour to feet per second

18. One mile per hour equals how many feet per second? Assume there are 5280 feet in a mile. (​3
points​)

Now you're ready to calculate the driver's total stopping distance. Remember, her total stopping distance
is a combination of these three stopping distances:

1mi/s=1.46666667 ft/s

Reaction Distance

19. How fast was the driver traveling in miles per hour? See question 16. (​2 points​)

Round your answer to two decimal places.

58.666668

20. What was her speed in feet per second? (​3 points​)

85.06667 feet per second

21. Using the driver's speed in feet per second, how far did her car travel during her reaction time?
Round your answer to two decimal places. (​4 points:​ 3 points for the correct numbers, 1 point for the
answer)

reaction distance =​ if the reaction time is 1.5 per second then it’s 85-1.5 which equates to 83.5
which is more than enough length of road and time to stop.

Brake Engagement Distance

 22. Using the car's speed in feet per second, how far did the car travel during the brake engagement
time? Use the brake engagement time from question 8. Round your answer to two decimal places. (​3
points​)

brake engagement distance = 1.4666667

Braking Distance

This distance can be approximated by the total length that the skid marks would have measured if the car
had not crashed into the fence.

23. What was the total length of the skid marks (from question 14)? (​1 point​)

braking distance = ​76

Total Stopping Distance

24. What was the car's total stopping distance? (​3 points​)

150 feet

Restate your answer in the context of the problem.

25. If she had stayed on the road, the driver would have needed _____ feet to come to a complete
stop after she saw the cow. (​2 points​)

76 feet

Congratulations! You have finished both your research and your analysis of the accident. Now that you've
calculated the driver's speed and total stopping distance, it is time to make a decision and prepare your
report.

V. Interpret the Results​ ​30 points

 Your
Report

Answer the following questions for your final report to the insurance company.

26. Was the driver speeding? (​2 points​)

yes

27. Were her headlights in proper working order? (​2 points​)

yes

28. Were her brakes working at 75% efficiency or better? (​2 points​)

yes

29. Was the driver "overdriving" her headlights? That is, was her total stopping distance greater than
her headlight distance? (​4 points:​ 2 points for the numbers, 2 points for the interpretation)

She had about 150 feet to stop which was more than enough to see the cow and go to a
complete stop going 40 mph.

30. Could she have braked in time to avoid hitting the cow? Explain your answer. (​10 points​)

Yeah she could’ve. She had enough time to stop.

Final Decision:​ Who was at fault in this case? Explain your reasoning. (​10 points​).

The driver. Because she was stupid enough to be speeding on a blind turn when her car worked
fine and the farmer was waving her off to let her know he was there.