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Year 11 - Science

Stopping (and estimating stopping distances)

Forces make things change

Unit Summary

This unit explores forces, interactions, and Newton's laws, including motion, rotation, and momentum. It covers reaction times, stopping distances, and deceleration dangers. Emphasis is on force diagrams, calculations, experiments, and evaluating methods for accuracy and safety.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to describe the factors that affect stopping distance and explain the effect of each one.

Key Notes

  • Stopping distance is the distance travelled both as a drive reacts and then for the brakes to bring a vehicle to a stop
  • Reaction time of a drive can be affected by tiredness, drugs, alcohol or distractions
  • Braking distance can be affected by adverse road and weather conditions and the condition of the vehicle
  • When braking, work is done on the brakes that heats them up
  • If brakes overheat they can stop working effectively and lead to a loss of control

Vocabulary To Learn

  • reaction time: for driving is the time between noticing a hazard and taking an action to deal with it
  • thinking distance: is the distance a vehicle travels while a driver reacts; the vehicle does not slow during this time
  • braking distance: is the distance a vehicle travels between the brakes being applied and the vehicle coming to a stop
  • stopping distance: is the sum of the thinking and braking distances

Common Mistakes To Avoid

  • Pupils often forget to include thinking distance in the overall stopping distance, or imagine that thinking distance is too short to matter.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

1. Explain the scientific idea in this lesson using two key points.

Stopping distance is the distance travelled both as a drive reacts and then for the brakes to bring a vehicle to a stop. Reaction time of a drive can be affected by tiredness, drugs, alcohol or distractions.

2. Define this scientific word and use it in context. 'reaction time'

for driving is the time between noticing a hazard and taking an action to deal with it. Include the word in a full scientific explanation, not as a single label.

3. Correct this common scientific misunderstanding.

Mistake: Pupils often forget to include thinking distance in the overall stopping distance, or imagine that thinking distance is too short to matter. Correction: Model a situation in which a child steps out from behind a parked car 10 m in front of a driver. At 20 mph the thinking distance is about 6 m and braking distance 6 m; at 30 mph these are 9 m and 14 m.

More Lessons In This Unit

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