A racing car has a mass of 1250kg. when the brake pedal is pushed down a constant breaking force of 10 000 N is exerted on the car. Calculate the acceleration of the car.

1 answer

It's called a braking force (from the word brake), not a breaking force. The words sound the same.

The force is actually applied to the car by the road, when the wheels are required by the brakes to slow down (or to lock and skid).

Since F = m a, the acceleration rate is F/m
a = -10,000/1250 = -8 m/s^2

It is negative because it is decelerating. The brake force is opposite to the direction of motion.