AQA · Physics · 8463
GCSE Physics: Forces and braking
Forces · AQA GCSE Physics (8463), specification point 4.5.6.3. Cards are generated from the exam board's own specification for "Forces and braking", and every card links back to the page it came from. Specification © AQA — used with attribution.
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What two distances add together to give a vehicle's stopping distance?
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Thinking distance + braking distance.
Define thinking distance.
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The distance a vehicle travels during the driver's reaction time, before the brakes are applied.
Define braking distance.
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The distance a vehicle travels while the braking force is acting, from when the brakes are applied until it stops.
For a given braking force, the greater the speed of a vehicle, the ? its stopping distance.
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greater
What is the typical range of human reaction times?
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0.2 s to 0.9 s.
Name one factor that increases a driver's reaction time.
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Tiredness, drugs, alcohol or distractions (any one).
Which part of stopping distance does a longer reaction time increase?
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Thinking distance — the car keeps moving at the same speed for longer before the brakes are applied.
Give two adverse road conditions that increase braking distance.
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Wet roads and icy roads.
Which two parts of a vehicle in poor condition increase braking distance?
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The brakes and the tyres.
Which force does work to reduce a vehicle's kinetic energy when it brakes?
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The friction force between the brakes and the wheel.
What happens to the temperature of a vehicle's brakes during braking, and why?
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It increases — work done by friction transfers the vehicle's kinetic energy to thermal energy in the brakes.
The greater the braking force on a vehicle, the greater its ?.
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deceleration
What two dangers can result from a very large deceleration of a vehicle?
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The brakes may overheat and the driver may lose control.
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