David, who is 65 kg, is driving his car at a speed of 25 m/s. He sees a dog crossing the road and so he steps on the brake to avoid hitting it. His seatbelt brings his body to a stop in 0.4 s. What magnitude of force does the seatbelt exert on him?

1 answer

The velocity changes by -25 m/s in 0.4 s, so the acceleration is

25/.4 m/s^2 = 62.5 m/s^2

Since F=ma, the force exerted is

65 kg * 62.5 m/s^2 = 4062.5 N