A corvette ZR1 can brake to a stop from 60mph in 2.6 seconds. If the car has a weight of 3225 pounds, what force (in Newtons) acts on the car?
a= (V^2 - V^1)/t
a= (0-88ft/sec)/2.6 sec
a= -10.316 m/s^2
-10.32N
Is this correct?
What did you get when you converted the weight to kg?
Your solution for acceleration is correct, but I don't know why you changed units from m/s^2 to N. They aren't the same units, since Newton is force units. Numerically, it's correct as well.
Anyway, now that you have acceleration (which is -10.316 m/s^2), we'll solve for force. Force is mass x acceleration:
F = m*a
But we have to convert first the mass to kg units. There are 2.2 lbs equivalent to 1 kg:
mass: 3225 lbs * (1 kg / 2.2 lbs) = 1465.91 kg
Thus,
F = 1465.91 kg * -10.316 m/s^2
F = -15122.3 N
No, the calculation you provided is incorrect. To calculate the force acting on the car during the braking process, you can use Newton's second law of motion:
Force = mass × acceleration
First, we need to convert the weight of the car from pounds to kilograms since the standard unit of mass in the metric system is kilograms:
Weight (in pounds) = 3225 pounds
Weight (in kilograms) = 3225 pounds × (0.4536 kg/pound) ≈ 1463.71 kg
Next, we need to find the acceleration, which can be calculated using the equation you provided:
acceleration = (final velocity - initial velocity) / time
In this case, the final velocity is 0, the initial velocity is 60 mph (which needs to be converted to meters per second), and the time is given as 2.6 seconds.
Final velocity (in meters per second) = 0 m/s
Initial velocity (in meters per second) = 60 mph × (0.44704 m/s / 1 mph) ≈ 26.82 m/s
Time = 2.6 seconds
Now we can calculate the acceleration:
acceleration = (0 m/s - 26.82 m/s) / 2.6 s ≈ -10.32 m/s^2 (Note: You rounded the calculation incorrectly in your previous response. The correct value is -10.32 m/s^2.)
Finally, we can calculate the force:
Force = mass × acceleration = 1463.71 kg × -10.32 m/s^2 ≈ -15,091.81 N
Therefore, the force acting on the car during the braking process is approximately -15,091.81 Newtons. The negative sign indicates that the force is acting in the opposite direction of motion, which is how we typically represent deceleration or braking forces.