A big rig truck loses its breaks going down a steep highway. The truck has a mass of 36,200 kilograms al is traveling at 78 miles per hour (34.8 meters per second) How much kinetic energy does the truck have when the driver turns into the deep gravel of an emergency ramp?
KE = Amu?
To calculate the kinetic energy, we can use the formula:
KE = (1/2) * mass * velocity²
where KE represents the kinetic energy, mass is the mass of the truck, and velocity is the velocity of the truck.
Given:
Mass of the truck (m) = 36,200 kg
Velocity of the truck (v) = 34.8 m/s
Plugging these values into the formula, we get:
KE = (1/2) * 36,200 kg * (34.8 m/s)²
KE = (1/2) * 36,200 kg * 1209.6 m²/s²
KE ≈ 21,003,456 J
Therefore, the kinetic energy of the truck when the driver turns into the deep gravel of an emergency ramp is approximately 21,003,456 Joules.