Edexcel GCSE Physics

Topic Questions

GCSEPhysicsEdexcelTopic Questions2. Motion & Forces2.4 Stopping Distances

2.4 Stopping Distances

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1a
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State two factors that affect the thinking distance.

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1b
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State two factors that affect the braking distance.

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1c
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A council decides to impose a 20 miles per hour (mph) speed limit in a town centre.

A councillor says that drivers can react more quickly at 20 mph than they can at 30 mph.

Explain what is wrong with the councillor's statement.

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1d
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A driver has a reaction time of 0.4 s. 

Their car is travelling at 20 m/s.

Calculate the driver's reaction distance.

  

  

reaction distance = .................................... m

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2a
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Some sources claim that self-driving cars will be available by the year 2040.

Write down the equation relating reaction time, reaction distance and vehicle speed.

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2b
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It takes the average person 1.6 s to hit the brakes if somebody walks into the road in front of the car. 

Calculate the reaction distance in this scenario at a speed of 30 m/s.

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2c
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The braking distance for a family car at 30 m/s is 75 m.

Calculate the stopping distance at this speed.

  

  

stopping distance = .................................... m

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2d
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A self-driving car has an average "reaction time" of 0.5 s. 

Calculate the stopping distance of a self-driving car with the same brakes as in part (c) travelling at 40 m/s.

  

  

stopping distance = .................................... m

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3a
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Define reaction time.

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3b
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Student A holds a 30 cm ruler. 

Students B and C take turns to hold their hands under the ruler and try to catch it when student A lets go.

They use position of their fingers on the ruler to calculate their reaction times. 

Name one variable the students should control.

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3c
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Student A holds the ruler at the 0 cm end. 

Student B catches the ruler at 28 cm. Student C catches the ruler at 22 cm.

State which student has the faster reaction time. Explain your answer.

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1a3 marks

A car is travelling at 10 m/s.

The driver sees a danger and stops the car.

i)
The stopping distance for the car would be smaller if the car

  ☐ A had more passengers
  ☐ B had worn tyres
  ☐ C needed new brakes
  ☐ D was travelling more slowly

[1]

Figure 4 shows a speed-time graph for the driver stopping the car.

fig-4-paper1f-oct2021-edexcel-gcse-physics

Figure 4

ii)
Use the graph to find the driver’s reaction time.

[2]

reaction time = .............................................................. s

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1b2 marks

Figure 5 shows the apparatus a student uses to investigate how the stopping distance of a toy car depends on the type of surface that it is stopping on.

fig-5-paper1f-oct2021-edexcel-gcse-physics

Figure 5

Describe an experiment to find out how the stopping distance depends on the surface that stops the toy car.

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1c4 marks
Figure 6 shows a set of results used to find the average stopping distance of the toy car on a surface.



test number stopping distance in m
1 0.35
2 0.32
3 0.52
4 0.38
5 0.33

Figure 6

i)
State the anomalous value of stopping distance given in the table in Figure 6.


[1]

ii)
Use the results in Figure 6 to calculate the average stopping distance.

[2]

average stopping distance = .............................................................. m

iii)
State one way the student could increase the speed of the car as it reaches the flat surface.

[1]

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1d2 marks

A car is travelling down a slope at 2.0 m/s.

The car accelerates for 4.0 s.

The speed of the car increases to 12 m/s.

Calculate the acceleration of the car.

Use the equation

a italic equals fraction numerator stretchy left parenthesis v minus u stretchy right parenthesis over denominator t end fraction

acceleration of the car = .............................................................. m/s2

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2a1 mark

Write down an equation which relates thinking distance, braking distance and stopping distance. 

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2b3 marks

A truck driver is travelling along a road at 25 m/s when they spot red traffic lights 200 m ahead.

The truck driver has a reaction time of 0.84 s, however they are tired so their reaction time is twice as long. 

Calculate the truck driver's thinking distance.

 

   

Thinking distance = .................................... m

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2c2 marks
Figure 1 shows braking distances for average-weight trucks at different vehicle speeds in kilometres per hour (km/h).

2-4-m-2c-brakingdistances-nofigure1-edexcel-gcse-physics

Figure 1

25 m/s = 90 km/h. The lorry's brakes can produce a deceleration of 3.5 m/s2.

Estimate the stopping distance of the lorry.

   

   

Stopping distance = .................................... m

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2d1 mark

When the truck fully applies its brakes, it comes to rest only 5 m before the red light. 

Suggest two reasons why this may have happened.

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3a2 marks
State two factors that can affect reaction distance.

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3b2 marks
State two factors that affect the braking distance

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3c1 mark

A council introduces 20 miles per hour (mph) speed limit in a particular region of a city.

A member of the council states that drivers can react faster at 20 mph than they can at 30 mph.

Explain what is wrong with the councillor's statement.

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3d2 marks
Figure 1 shows thinking and braking distances for a vehicle at different speeds.

2-4-m-3d-brake-vs-think-d

Figure 1

Describe how thinking distance varies with increasing speed.

Use data from the graph in your answer.

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4a4 marks
Complete the equations. 

Choose quantities from the box. 

Each quantity can be used once, more than once or not at all.

mass force speed
distance energy acceleration

 

     

kinetic space energy space equals space 1 half space cross times space........... space cross times space........... space squared

   

work space done space equals space........... space cross times space...........

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4b3 marks

During a braking test, 900 kg car is travelling at 40 m/s.

The test driver must brake sharply and come to a complete stop when she sees a light flash at the end of the road.

Calculate the work done by the brakes to bring the car to a stop.

   

   

Work done = .................................... J

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4c2 marks

A car brake manufacturer states that their brakes can produce a maximum braking force of 6250 N.

Calculate the braking distance of the car from part (b) if the car is using these brakes.

  

   

Braking distance = .................................... m

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4d2 marks

In reality, after the light flashes the car travels further than the value calculated in (c). 

Explain why this happens.

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5a1 mark

A scientist uses different drivers to test the stopping distances of the same car.

Figure 1 shows the results.

Driver Speed
(m/s)		 Thinking distance
(m)		 Braking distance
(m)
1 12 9 10
2 24 20 36
3 48 36 144
4 24 19 36
5 12 8 10
6 48 45 180

  

Figure 1

Most of the drivers tested the car on a dry day, on a level road.

State which driver tested the car on a wet road.

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5b3 marks

State which driver has the shortest reaction time.

Calculate their reaction time, giving your answer to 1 significant figure.

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5c8 marks

The car has a mass of 1400kg.

(i)
Calculate the maximum energy in the car's kinetic store when driver 4 is testing it.

[3]

   

(ii)
Describe what happens to the energy in the car's kinetic store as it brakes and stops.

[2]

   

(iii)
The braking distance of the car is 82 m.
 
Calculate the braking force on the car to 2 significant figures.
  

[3]

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5d3 marks

Driver 2 travels at 24 m/s on the road. The thinking distance is 20m and the braking distance is 36 m.

Calculate the deceleration of the car.

You may assume the braking force is uniformly applied.

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