Jump to content
  • entries
    16
  • comments
    13
  • views
    3,956

Driving on a Road Trip

jacmags

Entry posted by jacmags

976 views

 Share

This weekend my family and I took a trip down to Fordham University down in the Bronx. As I was driving, I realized all the physics involved in the trip! The car was traveling at a constant speed of 70 miles per hour when it was set on cruise control. On the thruway, the car was only traveling horizontally therefore, it had no vertical distance. the car remained on a straight path where only the horizontal distance was changing. It took us about 5 1/2 hours to get all the way to New York city. Over that time and at that constant velocity, the total distance could be calculated. However, due to traffic and speed limit changes, the car was not traveling at a constant velocity the entire time. Newton's first law states that an object in motion tends to stay in motion unless acted upon by a net force. If I were to stop pressing the gas pedal, the car would continue to move along due to Newton's Law. The friction of the road acts as the net force of the car and would cause the car to eventually stop moving.

 Share

3 Comments

Recommended Comments

jacmags

Great post -- and how'd you like Fordham?

I loved it! I stayed with the team and talked with the coaches so it was a good weekend!

Link to comment
Guest
Add a comment...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×

Terms of Use

The pages of APlusPhysics.com, Physics in Action podcasts, and other online media at this site are made available as a service to physics students, instructors, and others. Their use is encouraged and is free of charge. Teachers who wish to use materials either in a classroom demonstration format or as part of an interactive activity/lesson are granted permission (and encouraged) to do so. Linking to information on this site is allowed and encouraged, but content from APlusPhysics may not be made available elsewhere on the Internet without the author's written permission.

Copyright Notice

APlusPhysics.com, Silly Beagle Productions and Physics In Action materials are copyright protected and the author restricts their use to online usage through a live internet connection. Any downloading of files to other storage devices (hard drives, web servers, school servers, CDs, etc.) with the exception of Physics In Action podcast episodes is prohibited. The use of images, text and animations in other projects (including non-profit endeavors) is also prohibited. Requests for permission to use such material on other projects may be submitted in writing to info@aplusphysics.com. Licensing of the content of APlusPhysics.com for other uses may be considered in the future.

APlusPhysics Books

APlusPhysics Books

×
×
  • Create New...