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A car is traveling on a level road with speed v0 at the instant when the brakes lock, so that the tires slide rather than roll.

(a) the coefficient of friction were doubled?
(b) the initial velocity were doubled?
(c) both the coefficient of friction and the initial velocity were doubled?

User Foc
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1 Answer

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Final answer:

Doubling the coefficient of friction would cause the car to decelerate more quickly, while doubling the initial velocity would result in a longer stopping distance. Combining both effects would further increase the deceleration and shorten the stopping distance.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this case, we can analyze the effect of doubling the coefficient of friction and the initial velocity separately and then combine the effects for both doubled:

(a) Doubling the coefficient of friction would increase the friction force acting on the car. This increased friction force would cause the car to decelerate more quickly and come to a stop in a shorter distance.

(b) Doubling the initial velocity would increase the kinetic energy of the car. This increased kinetic energy would cause the car to take longer to come to a stop, resulting in a longer stopping distance.

(c) Combining both effects, doubling both the coefficient of friction and the initial velocity would result in a greater increase in the friction force and kinetic energy. The car would decelerate even more quickly and come to a stop in an even shorter distance compared to just doubling the coefficient of friction or the initial velocity individually.

User Tomasz Nguyen
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