A car of mass m is moving on a highway. The driver applies the brakes and the car starts to slide. Assuming a coefficient of kinetic friction Hk, what is the car's acceleration? (Take the direction of motion to be the positive direction). -Hkm -Pkg -Hkmg -mg Not enough information to determine
When the driver applies the brakes, a frictional force acts on the car, opposing its motion. This frictional force is given by:
F_friction = u * N
where mu is the coefficient of kinetic friction between the tires and the road, and N is the normal force exerted on the car by the road. Since the car is sliding, the normal force is equal to the weight of the car, which is given by:
N = m * g
where m is the mass of the car and g is the acceleration due to gravity.
The frictional force acting on the car causes it to decelerate, or accelerate in the negative direction since we've taken the positive direction to be the direction of motion. Therefore, the acceleration of the car is given by:
a = F_friction / m
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