Kinematic Question -- Car braking to avoid hitting a fox

[Evangeline101]

Homework Statement

Andrew is driving his van to deliver groceries in Elmvale. As he travels along Hwy 92, a fox stops on the road. Andrew is traveling at 75 km/h and is 42 m away from the fox when he applies his brakes. It takes him 3.4 s to stop.

a) How far did Andrew travel before stopping?

b) Did Andrew hit the fox? Explain your answer by including a calculation.

c) If a typical van is 4.2 m in length, how many van lengths did it take Andrew to stop?

Homework Equations

Δd = v₂+v₁/2 (Δt)

The Attempt at a Solution

[/B]
Given:
v₁ = 75 km/h
convert 75 km/h to m/s = 20.8 m/s

Δd = 42 m

Δt = 3.4 s a) Δd = v₂+v₁/2 (Δt)
Δd = (0 m/s + 20.8 m/s) /2 x (3.4s)
Δd = 35.36 m

Andrew traveled 35.36 m before stopping.

b) 42 m - 35.36 m = 6.64 m
Andrew stopped 6.64 m in front of the fox and therefore did not hit it.

c) 35.36 m / 4.2 m = 8.4 van lengths
It took approximately 8 van lengths for Andrew to stop.

Please look over this and tell me if it is correct. Thanks :)

 

[TSny]

It all looks good.

The formula Δd = v2+v1/2 (Δt) should be written with parentheses in the numerator as Δd = (v2+v1)/2 (Δt) in order to indicate the proper order of operations.

 

[Evangeline101]

Ok, thanks for checking it out :)