Asked by Jen
Does the mass of the car matter when driving on the road? When skidding?
Answers
Answered by
bobpursley
Friction is dependent on the mass of the car, yes, weight requires more engine power/fuel to keep it going against road friction.
When skidding? You want a lot of friction to stop, however, increasing mass also increases momentum. Consider this, skidding to stop a car:
forcefriction*distance=mass*velocity
mu*mass*g*distance=mass*Velocity
distance=velocity/(mu*g)
so braking distance depends on initial velocity, coefficent of friction...not mass.
When skidding? You want a lot of friction to stop, however, increasing mass also increases momentum. Consider this, skidding to stop a car:
forcefriction*distance=mass*velocity
mu*mass*g*distance=mass*Velocity
distance=velocity/(mu*g)
so braking distance depends on initial velocity, coefficent of friction...not mass.
Answered by
bobpursley
oops, error.
forcefriction*distance=1/2 *mass*velocity^2
mu*mass*g*distance=1/2 *mass*Velocity^2
distance=velocity^2/(2mu*g)
so braking distance depends on initial velocity squared, and the coefficent of friction...not mass.
forcefriction*distance=1/2 *mass*velocity^2
mu*mass*g*distance=1/2 *mass*Velocity^2
distance=velocity^2/(2mu*g)
so braking distance depends on initial velocity squared, and the coefficent of friction...not mass.
Answered by
Jen
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