📚 Learning Guide
Friction
medium

If a car with a mass of 1,200 kg is moving on a road with a coefficient of kinetic friction of 0.6, what is the maximum deceleration the car can achieve before skidding?

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Choose the Best Answer

A

35 m/s²

B

81 m/s²

C

90 m/s²

D

50 m/s²

Understanding the Answer

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Answer

The friction force that can slow the car is the kinetic friction force, which equals the coefficient of friction times the normal force. On a flat road the normal force is just the weight of the car, so the maximum friction force is 0. 6 × (1 200 kg × 9. 8 m/s²). Dividing that force by the car’s mass gives the maximum deceleration, which comes out to about 5.

Detailed Explanation

The friction force that can be produced equals the coefficient times the car’s weight, giving a maximum braking force that lets the car slow down by about 35 m/s² before it begins to slip. Other options are incorrect because The idea that friction could provide more than 35 m/s² comes from thinking the car’s mass lets it hold a huge extra force, but friction depends only on the weight, not on how heavy the vehicle is; Assuming 90 m/s² assumes that the friction coefficient is far higher than 0.6; a coefficient above 1 is impossible for dry road contact, so this value is unattainable.

Key Concepts

Coefficient of Friction
Types of Friction
Topic

Friction

Difficulty

medium level question

Cognitive Level

understand

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