1. KS4 Forces – Speed and Acceleration

2.  Stopping distances  How long does it take a moving vehicle to stop?
Thinking distance is the distance a car travels before the brakes are applied.
The stopping distance is the sum of the thinking distance and the braking distance.
Braking distance is the distance a car travels whilst the brakes are being applied.
Braking distance
Thinking distance
Stopping distance
Stopping distance = thinking distance + braking distance

3. Can you match up the words with their definitions?
Stopping distance
Friction
Thinking distance
Braking distance
One of forces the road exerts on the tyres as the car is stopping.
The distance a car travels whilst it is braking.
The distance a car travels before the brakes are applied.
The sum of thinking distance and the braking distance.

4. What factors affect braking and thinking distance?
Braking distance
Speed of car
Speed of car
Drugs and alcohol
Road conditions
Condition of tyres
Tiredness
Medication
Condition of brakes
Medication
Condition of tyres
Speed of car
Drugs and alcohol
Road conditions
Tiredness
Condition of brakes

5. Medication, drugs/alcohol, speed of car, tiredness
Braking car question:
A car is moving along an open road. Suddenly, a sheep walks into the road.
What do we call the distance the car travels before the driver puts their foot on the brakes?
Name one factor that could increase the distance the car travels in this time.
The braking distance is 35m for the car. If the stopping distance is 50m, how far did the car travel before the driver put their foot on the brakes?
Thinking distance
Medication, drugs/alcohol, speed of car, tiredness
Thinking distance = Stopping distance – braking distance
= 50m – 35m
= 15m

6. Car Graphing Activity
This graphing experiment shows a movie of a car travelling along a straight road.
Copy the results table shown on the next slide and complete it as the movie is played.
Record the distance the car has travelled every five seconds.
Then graph your results.
Note that there are teacher’s notes, in “Notes View” on this slide.
Suggested teacher’s approach:
DISTANCE TIME GRAPH
Instruct students to copy the blank results table for the distance / time graph. (Note that the “answers” are animated on here – so avoid showing unless wanted).
Play the car animation so that students can record the results.
Instruct students on graphing their results.
Two Distance-Time graphs are included here. The first is plotted with 5 second intervals; the other with every data point included.
There are then two further animated graphs with a number of animations to help illustrate various points.
(Teachers might like to use a formula triangle for the Speed = distance/time equation – but this has not been included in the animated sequence.)
SPEED / TIME GRAPH
8. Repeat the procedure for the Speed / Time graph.
9. Make the point to students that they should draw smooth curves through their points – unlike the results using Excel. 10. Relate the Speed / Time graph back to the Distance / Time graph – in particular as regards the value for speed in the middle section of the graph.
THE CAR ANIMATION
10. On slower processors the animation will play more slowly than its design speed. Although this may detract from the “appeal” of the animation, the experiment will still work as the “seconds” displayed work independently of the play-back speed.
EMBEDDED EXCEL
11. The graphs are plotted using embedded Excel worksheets. These allow the data to be accessed by double clicking while in edit mode.
12. As Excel doesn’t use smooth curves for graphs this gives rise to slightly different shapes for the Speed / Time graphs when comparing plotting every five seconds, compared to every second. This would make a discussion point for G&T students on the need to draw smooth curves.
See teacher’s notes

7. Results table for Distance / Time Graph
Time/Seconds
Distance/Metres 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

8. This is a FLASH animation
This is a FLASH animation. Please click on the red arrows to start the animation.

9. Results table for Distance / Time Graph
Time/Seconds
Distance/Metres 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55
904 76
186
234
484
634
784
994
974 16

12. The line on the graph is not straight, so we know the speed of the car is changing.
The curve is downwards as the car slows down at the end of the movie.
The car has stopped:
The line is flat – the distance of the car from the start point is not changing.
The line is straight – meaning that there is no CHANGE in speed.
The car is going fast but at a constant speed.
The line is straight in this region of the graph.
The car is starting to move.
The curve shows that the speed is changing.
The curve is upwards as the car accelerates at the
start of the movie.

13. Gradient of a Distance / Time Graph
The speed of the car can be calculated by looking at the gradient of the Distance / Time graph.
Speed is “Distance Travelled divided by Time Taken”
Both these values can be read off the Distance / Time graph, and this is the same as the gradient of the line.

14. Look at the straight line part of this graph shown by the two arrows in a triangle.
The car has travelled from 200m to 800m, = 600m
The car has taken from 16s to 36s to travel
this distance = 20 seconds
Therefore the speed is 600 divided by 20 = 30 m/s

15. Plotting the Speed / Time Graph
Having looked at the distance-time graph, plot the speed-time graph.
Copy the results table shown on the next slide and complete it as the movie is played.
Record the speed of the car at five second intervals.
Then graph your results.

16. Results table for Speed / Time Graph
Time/Seconds
Speed/m/s 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55

18. Results table for Speed / Time Graph
Time/Seconds
Speed/m/s 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 55 20 16 26 30 10 6

20. The car is at rest here – with zero speed
The car is going at constant speed – acceleration is zero.
Car is accelerating here – the speed is increasing.
The car is decelerating here – or slowing down

21. From both graphs we can see that the speed is 30 m/s.
(Using the value calculated previously)
The speed is decreasing and the curve is downwards
The speed is zero – the car is not moving
– and we can see that the distance that the car has travelled is not changing either.
The speed is increasing, and we can see that the Distance / Time graph curves upwards.
Now compare the Speed / Time graph with the earlier Distance / Time graph

22. S=d/t We can express the speed formula using the equation:
Speed = Distance ÷ Time
S =d/t
Speed measured in metres per second (m/s)
Distance measured in metres (m)
Time measured in seconds (s)

23.   x d s Formula triangles
Formula triangles help you to rearrange formula, the triangle for the speed formula is shown below:
Whatever quantity you are trying to find cover it up and it will leave you with the calculation required.
…and you are left with the sum…
So if you were trying to find speed, s…..
s = d t d  
…you would cover s up… s t x

24. Formula triangles
Flash animation – click on the letter you want to cover up to start animation

25. Measure out a known distance, say 100m, alongside a road.
Speed of vehicles
Use the speed formula, s=d/t, to calculate the speeds of various vehicles.
Measure out a known distance, say 100m, alongside a road.
Record the time it takes vehicles to cover the distance.  
100 m
Measure the speed of at least 20 vehicles and then represent your data graphically.