A car traveling 85 km/h strikes a tree. The front end of the car compresses and the driver comes to rest after traveling 0.80 m. What was the average acceleration of the driver during the collision?

1 Answer
Feb 16, 2018

The acceleration is =-348.4ms^-2

Explanation:

The initial velocity of the car (driver) is u=85kmh^-1

u=85/3.6=23.61ms^-1

The distance travelled by the driver is s=0.80m

The final velocity of the driver is v=0ms^-1

Apply the equation of motion,

v^2=u^2+2as

The acceleration is

a=(v^2-u^2)/(2s)=(0-23.61^2)/(2*0.80)

=-348.4ms^-2