A car traveling at 22 m/s comes to an abrupt halt in 0.1 second when it hits a tree. What is the deceleration in meters per second per second of the car?
A) 220
B) 800
C) 110
D) 880
E) can't be solved without the mass of the car

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The deceleration can be calculated using the formula $a = \frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}$, where $\Delta v = -22 \, \text{m/s}$ (final velocity is 0, initial is 22 m/s, hence the change is -22 m/s) and $\Delta t = 0.1 \, \text{s}$. Thus, $a = \frac{-22}{0.1} = -220 \, \text{m/s}^2$. The negative sign indicates deceleration. The mass of the car is not needed to calculate deceleration.

A Car Traveling at 22 M/s Comes to an Abrupt