Text book answers

SP2g Stopping distances

1 in order to leave a safe distance so they do not crash when a hazard appears
2 17 m
3 a The car is moving during the driver's reaction time, so the longer the driver takes to respond
to a stimulus, the further the car will have moved.
b The faster the car is moving, the further it will go during the driver's reaction time.
4 In a computer test there is just a light/ colour change (or a sound); in the simulator there are
lots of things to look at/the driver might not be looking in the correct direction when the hazard
appears/the driver has to decide if something they can see is a hazard.

5 Drinking alcohol increases reaction time, therefore increasing thinking distance. This increases
stopping distance.

6. The thinking distance is the same but cars have much smaller masses than lorries, so the
braking distance (and so the overall stopping distance) will be less.
7 The lower speed limit is for wet weather, when the reduced friction between tyres and the road
will make braking distances longer.

Exam-style question
Description that makes reference to the following
points:
• the thinking distance is how far the vehicle
travels while the driver is reacting to a
hazard (1).
• the faster the vehicle is travelling the
greater the distance travelled whilst the
driver is thinking (1).
• braking distance is how far the vehicle
travels while it is slowing down (1).
• the faster the vehicle is travelling the
longer it takes to stop (1)

S1 A good answer will contain the following points.

Thinking distance is increased by: alcohol;
drugs; tiredness; faster speed.
Braking distance is increased by: faster speed;
higher mass; worn brakes; worn tyres; lower
friction road surface, e.g. mud, gravel, wet, ice.

E1 The paragraph should be coherent and concise,

and should contain most of the following points:
• fog does not affect the thinking or braking
distances
• fog reduces the distance at which a
hazard can be identified
• if the distance at which the hazard
is identified is less than the stopping
distance, the car will hit the object
• drivers need to reduce their speed in foggy
conditions until the stopping distance is
less than the maximum distance they can
see ahead.

SP2h Braking distance and

Energy

1 work = 5 N × 5 m = 25 J
2. 25 J, as the final kinetic energy is the same as the work done to accelerate it (assuming no
energy is wasted).

3 kinetic energy = 0.5 × 0.5 kg × (20 m/s) 2 = 100 J

4 a kinetic energy = 0.5 × 1500 kg × (20 m/s)2 = 300 000 J distance = 300 000 J / 10 000 N = 30
m
b kinetic energy = 0.5 × 1500 kg × (40 m/s)2 = 1 200 000 J distance = 1 200 000 J / 10 000 N =
120 m

5 the braking distance increases by a factor of four/is multiplied by four

Exam-style question
Any four points from the following: The braking distance depends on the kinetic energy that has
to be transferred during stopping, and the force used to stop the car. (1) Kinetic energy depends
on mass and velocity squared, (1) so if the speed doubles the kinetic energy goes up by a factor
of 4. (1) The braking distance is the work done to stop the car, which is the same as the kinetic
energy stored in the moving car. (1) So if the braking force stays the same (1) if the speed
doubles the braking distance will be 40 metres. (1)
S1 The braking distance depends on kinetic energy, which depends on speed squared. So
if the speed doubles the braking distance goes up by a factor of four/is multiplied by four.

E1 The braking distance depends on the force used for braking and on the amount of stored
kinetic
energy that has to be transferred. The kinetic energy depends on the mass of the vehicle and
on its speed squared. Lorries have a much higher
mass than cars, so their kinetic energy at a given
speed is much higher. This means that the lorry
needs more powerful brakes. The lower speed
limit helps to reduce the braking distance by
reducing the amount of kinetic energy that has to
be transferred during braking.
Any suitable calculation to compare the
stopping distances for different mass vehicles
or with different braking forces.
e.g. A 15 000 kg lorry compared to a 1500 kg
car, both travelling at 30 m/s with a braking
force of 10 000 N (braking force and car mass
chosen because these are given in Worked
Example 3 in the Student Book SP2h).
kinetic energy of lorry
= 0.5 × 15 000 kg × (30 m/s)2 = 6 750 000 J
kinetic energy of car =
0.5 × 1500 kg × (30 m/s)2 = 675 000 J
braking distances
= 6 750 000 J/10 000 N
= 675 m for the lorry, 67.5 m for the car.
without more powerful brakes than the car, the
stopping distance for the lorry would be over
half a kilometre