Question

Braking distance is the distance a car travels from the time a person applies the brakes to when the car comes to a complete stop. The graph shows the relationship between the speed of a car and the distance the car travels before it stops.

Based on the graph, describe the relationship between the car’s braking distance and kinetic energy. Be sure to use evidence from the graph to support your response..

Answer 1

The kinetic energy of an object increases as its velocity increases. Moreover, we see that the braking distance of the car increases as its velocity increases. Therefore, the breaking distance increases when the kinetic energy of the car is higher. This is evident in the graph where when the velocity is lower, the kinetic energy is lower and the braking distance is less.