Question

1. you are traveling in a car that is moving at a velocity of 20 m/s. suddenly, a car 10 meters in front of you slams on its brakes. at that moment, you also slam on your brakes and slow to 5 m/s. calculate the acceleration if it took 2 seconds to slow your car down.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall acceleration formula

Acceleration is the change in velocity over time: $a = \frac{v_f - v_i}{t}$

Step2: Identify given values

Initial velocity $v_i = 20$ m/s, final velocity $v_f = 5$ m/s, time $t = 2$ s

Step3: Substitute values into formula

$a = \frac{5 - 20}{2}$

Step4: Calculate the result

$a = \frac{-15}{2} = -7.5$ m/s²
The negative sign indicates deceleration.

Answer:

$-7.5$ m/s² (or a deceleration of 7.5 m/s²)