Help w/Word Prob: LAW ENFORCEMENT A police accident investigator can use the formula s=2√5l to estimate the speed=s of a car in miles per hour based on the length=l in feet of the skid marks it left. How fast was a car traveling that left skid marks 120 feet long?
s(L)=2√(5L)
Substitute L=120 in above equation to get:
s(120)=2√(5(120))
=2√(600)
=2*24.5
=49 mph
I can See It!!! I was multiplying 600 & 2 together... Thanks :)
You're welcome!
To find out how fast the car was traveling based on the length of the skid marks, we can use the given formula:
s = 2√5l
Where:
s = speed of the car in miles per hour
l = length of the skid marks in feet
In this case, we are given that the length of the skid marks is 120 feet. We need to substitute this value into the formula and solve for the speed (s).
Substituting the value of l = 120 feet into the formula, we get:
s = 2√5(120)
Next, we simplify the equation:
s = 2√(5 * 120)
s = 2√600
s = 2 * 24.49
s ≈ 48.98
Therefore, the car was traveling at approximately 48.98 miles per hour when it left skid marks that were 120 feet long.