BvU said:
Energy. The kinetic energy from the moving car is dissipated by the friction force the road exerts on the tyres.
Really? I just rediscovered the "
kinematics equations" about a month ago. They are a godsend for idiots like myself.
if [tex]v_0^2 = 0[/tex]
then the following kinematic equation
[tex]v^2 = v_0^2 + 2 a \Delta x[/tex]
reduces to
[tex]v^2 = 2 a \Delta x[/tex]
which rearranged becomes
[tex]\Delta x = v^2 / 2 a[/tex]
hmmmm... kinetic energy:
[tex]ke = 1/2 m v^2[/tex]
f = m a --> m = f / a
therefore
[tex]ke = 1/2 (f/a) v^2 = f v^2 / 2a[/tex]
and
[tex]W = \Delta ke = fd[/tex]
rearranged yields
f=ke/d
and since ke_f = 0
we get
[tex]ke = ( ke/d ) v^2 / (2a)[/tex]
multiplying both sides by d/ke yields, once again
[tex]d = v^2 / 2a[/tex]
Ha! That works too. Thanks!
[edit: Why do I always catch my errors after pushing the post button...

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