Question

LAW ENFORCEMENT: A police accident investigator can use the formula S=25L‾‾‾√S=25L to estimate the speed s of a car in miles per hour based on the length l in feet of the skid marks it left. How fast was a car traveling that left skid marks 109 feet long?

Answer 1

Given that the speed of a car in mph can be estimated using the formula
sqrtS=25L
where:
L is the length in feet of skid marks it left.
Thus the speed of a car with skid marks L=107 ft =107/5280=0.02 miles, will be:
sqrtS=25*0.02=0.5
thus the speed will be given by:
S=(0.5)^2=0.25 miles per hour