Question

A car is travelling to the left with an initial speed of 32 m/s. The car comes to a stop in a time of 5 seconds. What was the acceleration of the car while stopping?

Answer 1

To find the acceleration of the car while stopping, we can use the equation of motion:

$v=u+at$

where:

• $v$ is the final velocity (which is 0 m/s since the car comes to a stop).
• $u$ is the initial velocity (32 m/s to the left).
• $a$ is the acceleration.
• $t$ is the time taken to come to a stop (5 seconds).

Plugging in the given values:

$0\text{m/s}=32\text{m/s}+a\cdot 5\text{s}$

Now, let's solve for $a$:

$a\cdot 5\text{s}=-32\text{m/s}$

$a=\frac{-32\text{m/s}}{5\text{s}}$

$a=-6.4{\text{m/s}}^2$

So, the acceleration of the car while stopping is $-6.4{\text{m/s}}^2$. The negative sign indicates that the acceleration is in the opposite direction of the initial velocity, which is necessary to bring the car to a stop.