Final answer:
The student is conducting a Physics experiment to measure the stopping distance of a car. They must record the distance before braking, the stopping time, and the total distance to stop. Factors like surface conditions and driver reaction time are critical in this calculation.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks about the steps necessary to conduct an experiment to measure the stopping distance of a vehicle, which involves concepts from Physics such as displacement, velocity, and acceleration. To perform the experiment, one would drive the car at a constant speed of 50 mph and then apply the brakes until the car comes to a complete stop.
The essential components that need to be measured are the distance covered before hitting the brakes, the time it takes to stop after hitting the brakes, and the total distance the vehicle covers to stop. By analyzing the relationship between speed and stopping distance, one can gain insights into road safety implications.
Calculating the actual stopping distances requires knowing the deceleration rate, which can vary depending on whether the surface is dry or wet concrete.
For example, at a deceleration rate of 7.00 m/s² on dry concrete, and 5.00 m/s² on wet concrete, the stopping distances for a car moving at 30.0 m/s can be calculated. It's important to take into account the driver's reaction time in such calculations as well.
To assess the reasonableness of the values obtained, one should consider factors such as the initial velocity and the deceleration rate. For instance, if a stop happens very quickly, one would expect correspondingly shorter stopping distances and times.