Can She Make It Through the Intersection Before the Light Turns Red?

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stephidjadi
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A person driving her car at 47 km/h approaches an intersection just as the traffic light turns yellow. She knows that the yellow light lasts only 2.0 s before turning to red, and she is 30 m away from the near side of the intersection (Fig. 2-29). The intersection is 15 m wide. Her car's maximum deceleration is -6.2 m/s2, whereas it can accelerate from 47 km/h to 70 km/h in 6.9 s. Ignore the length of her car and her reaction time.

a.If she hits the brakes, how far will she travel before stopping?

b. If she hits the gas instead, how far will she travel before the light turns red?
 
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stephidjadi said:
A person driving her car at 47 km/h approaches an intersection just as the traffic light turns yellow. She knows that the yellow light lasts only 2.0 s before turning to red, and she is 30 m away from the near side of the intersection (Fig. 2-29). The intersection is 15 m wide. Her car's maximum deceleration is -6.2 m/s2, whereas it can accelerate from 47 km/h to 70 km/h in 6.9 s. Ignore the length of her car and her reaction time.

a.If she hits the brakes, how far will she travel before stopping?

b. If she hits the gas instead, how far will she travel before the light turns red?

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How would you start to solve the problem?