• Question: how strong is the force of a car

    Asked by Wokdabrij TGS to Connor, Jillian, Lidunka, Sarah, Steven on 15 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Lidunka Vocadlo

      Lidunka Vocadlo answered on 15 Jun 2015:

      Well that depends on whether you mean a stationary car or a moving car. An average sized car has a mass of about 1500 kg, so the force downwards of this stationary would be about 15000 Newtons.

      But if the car is moving at, say, about 30 miles per hour (= about 13.5 metres per second), then its kinetic energy would be 0.5 x 1500 x 13.5 x 13.5 = 136,688 joules. The force needed to stop this car in 25 metres is 136,688/25. This is equal to about 5500 newtons.

      Basically it depends on the mass of the car, the speed it is travelling at, and the stopping distance.

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