Question

As you are driving on a snowy road, a reindeer runs out in front of you. You slam on the brakes of your car and skid a certain distance on a straight level road. If you were driving 3x as fast before the reindeer jumped into the road, what distance would the car have skidded, under the same conditions?

A) You would have traveled 9 times farther.
B) You would have traveled 1/3 as far.
C) You would have traveled 4 times farther.
D) You would have traveled 3 times farther.
E) You would have traveled twice as far

Answer 1

The stopping distance on a snowy road increases quadratically with speed, so if you were driving 3 times faster, the car would have skidded 9 times farther.

Step-by-step explanation:

When you are driving on a snowy road and have to slam on the brakes because a reindeer runs out in front of you, the distance that your car will skid depends on the initial speed of the car before you began to brake. The relationship between stopping distance and speed is quadratic. This means if you double your speed, the stopping distance becomes four times as far, and if you triple your speed, the stopping distance increases by a factor of nine.

The correct answer to the question on how far the car would have skidded if you were driving 3x as fast is: A) You would have traveled 9 times farther.