UNIT 1

FORCES AND MOTION

Ch3-Forces and Movement-2

Car forces

When a vehicle travels at a steady speed the frictional forces balance the driving force.
To slow the car the engine force is reduced by releasing the throttle and the frictional f
orce is increased by applying the brakes.
Stopping a car

The total distance required to stop a car, the stopping di

stance, is equal to the thinking distance plus the brakin
g distance.

stopping distance = thinking distance + braking distance.

Thinking distance

 Thinking distance is the distance a car travels after the driver has seen
a hazard but before the driver applies the brakes.
 Distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time.
 During this period the car is not decelerating.

Braking distance

 The braking distance is the distance travelled by the car after the
driver has started braking and the car is decelerating to rest.
Factors affecting stopping distance
1. The reaction time of the driver
• This will increase if the driver is tired, distracted or has consumed
alcohol or drugs.
• Poor visibility may also make it difficult for a driver to identify a da
nger and so cause him or her to take longer to respond.
• Increasing reaction time increases the thinking distance.

2. The speed of the car

The greater the speed the greater will be both the thinking and bra
king distances.
Doubling the speed increases the overall stopping distance by abou
t four times.
3. The mass of the car and its contents
The greater the mass the greater will be the braking distance.

4. The condition of the road

Wet and icy roads will cause the braking distance to increase.

5. The condition of the vehicle

Worn brakes or worn tyres will both increase the braking dista
nce.

Factor (1) and (2)  affecting thinking distance

Factor (2), (3), (4) and (5)  affecting braking distance
Factor (1) to (5)  affecting stopping distance
Exercises
1 The table below shows how the stopping distance of a car depends on its speed.
(a) Write down two factors, apart from speed, that affect the stopping distance of the car.

Mass of the car

Condition of the road
stopping distance/m 0 4 12 22 36 52 72
speed/ms-1 0 5 10 15 20 25 30

(b) Use the information in the above table to draw a graph of stopping distance against speed
stopping x
distance/m (c) The speed limit in a residential area is
70
12.5 m/s. Use your graph to estimate
the stopping distance of a car travelling
60 at this speed.

x (d) Describe how the stopping distance

50 changes as the speed of a car increases. 

40
As the speed increases, stopping
x
distance increases.
30

x
20
14.5 m
x
10
x
0x
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
speed/ms-1
stopping distance/m 0 4 12 22 36 52 72
speed/ms-1 0 5 10 15 20 25 30