During a head on car crash, the car is designed to slow down as its front end crumples. If a person can survive an acceleration of -33 m/s how far must the front end crumple if the car was initially traveling at 28 m/s?
s=v²/2a
To determine how far the front end of the car must crumple, we can use the principles of physics. First, let's understand the given information:
Initial velocity of the car (u) = 28 m/s
Final velocity of the car (v) = 0 m/s (as it slows down and comes to a stop)
Acceleration (a) = -33 m/s² (negative sign indicates deceleration)
We need to find the distance traveled by the car (s) during the deceleration, which corresponds to how far the front end crumples.
We can use the equation of motion:
v² = u² + 2as
Rearranging the equation:
s = (v² - u²) / (2a)
Plugging in the given values:
s = (0² - 28²) / (2 × -33)
Calculating:
s = (-784) / (-66)
s = 11.878 m
Therefore, the front end of the car needs to crumple approximately 11.878 meters.