Question

A person wearing a shoulder harness can survive a car crash if the acceleration is smaller than -300 m/s . assuming constant acceleration how far must the front end of the car collapse if 2 it crashes while going 101 km/hr?

Answer 1

To solve this problem, we use the equation:

d = (v^2  - v0^2) / 2a

 

where,

d = distance of collapse

v0 = initial velocity = 101 km / h = 28.06 m / s

v = final velocity = 0

a = acceleration = - 300 m / s^2

 

d = (-28.06 m / s)^2 / (2 * - 300 m / s^2)

d = 1.31 m