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2.6 Motion with Constant Acceleration

Reaction Time
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Instructions:
Click on the start button to start the simulation.  The simulation mimics a traffic light situation.  The idea is to press the brake button whenever the traffic light turns red.  The applet measures your reaction time (delay between the instant the traffic light turns red and the instant you press the brake button,) the time it takes the car to stop and all related distances.  The total distance traveled by the car after the light turns red, as well as the distance traveled while braking and the distance traveled before braking are shown on the applet canvas after the car stops.  The reaction time (Delay) and the time during braking (Brake) are shown in a box below the canvas.
You can change the initial speed of the car by simply typing the number at the box labeled "V =" and by selecting the unit from the drop down menu.  You can also set the coefficient of friction between the tires of the car and the road by typing the number. The applet canvas displays a velocity scale in red at the right and a position scale in black at the top.  The graph displayed is a velocity versus position graph. You may use the "Mouse X,V" box to get graph coordinates.

Navigation: Once you invoke the applet, you can return to this window by using the standard close box of the applet window (top right corner box in Windows platforms and top left corner on Mac platforms.)


( each clicks to the start button will create a new window)


Your browser can't run 1.0 Java applets, so here's a picture of the window the program brings up:

 



Explanation:
Before you press the "Brake" button, the car moves at constant velocity.  You can find the distance traveled during this delay period by using equation 2.3.  Once the "Brake" button is pressed, the motion is at constant acceleration.  Note that the initial velocity and final velocity are known.   The time is calculated by the applet.  You can use the equations in Table 2.1 to determine the acceleration and distance traveled by the car during this time interval.   You may want to revisit this applet when you get to section 4.8.  You can then find the acceleration by determining the friction force and using Newton's second law of motion.
 
Source:
Fu-Kwun Hwang

Go to the web site and link to the Online Library for further information.

 




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