a 40 kg student is riding a bicycle to school. the bicycle has a mass of 12 kg. the area that each tire makes contact with the road can be approximated by a rectangle of dimensions 6 cm x 4 cm. what is the pressure that each tire exerts on the road? give your answer in kPa to the nearest tens place.

To calculate the pressure that each tire exerts on the road, we need to use the formula:

Pressure = Force / Area

First, let's calculate the force exerted on the road by the student and the bicycle. This force can be calculated using the principle of Newton's second law, which states that force (F) equals mass (m) multiplied by acceleration (a).

The total mass of the student and the bicycle is given by:
Total mass = Mass of student + Mass of bicycle
Total mass = 40 kg + 12 kg
Total mass = 52 kg

Next, we need to calculate the force exerted on the road using the formula:
Force = Total mass × Acceleration

However, since we are not given the acceleration, let's assume the bicycle is moving at a constant speed, which means the acceleration is zero. Therefore, the force exerted on the road is also zero.

Now, let's calculate the area of each tire using the dimensions given. Since the area of each tire is in square centimeters, we need to convert it to square meters for the final calculation. There are 10,000 square centimeters in one square meter.

Area = Length × Width
Area = (6 cm × 4 cm) / 10,000 m²

Now we can calculate the pressure using the formula:
Pressure = Force / Area

Since the force is zero, the pressure exerted on the road by each tire is zero.

Therefore, the pressure that each tire exerts on the road is 0 kPa to the nearest tens place.

Note: It's important to consider that this calculation assumes no friction or external forces acting on the bicycle. In reality, there will be some pressure exerted due to friction and other factors, but it is not provided in the given information.