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Factors affecting thinking distance OALH

By Kirsty Blake
Last updated about 4 years ago
35 Questions
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State five factors that affect braking distance

Define stopping distance

Which of Newton’s laws states when the resultant force acting on an object is 0N it will either be stationary or moving at a constant speed?

In the acceleration required practical how is acceleration calculated by the data plotter?

Calculate thinking distance if the total stopping distance was 80m and the braking distance accounts for ¾ of this

Challenge: explain why a car driving at 100mph takes longer to stop than a car travelling at 20mph

Pause Point Questions

How would tiredness affect reaction time?

how might use of drugs affect reaction time?

How would alcohol affect reaction time?

How would distraction affect reaction time?

Key Knowledge

List four factors that affect reaction time

List four factors that affect reaction time

In the ruler drop experiment what could be used as independent variables?

In the ruler drop experiment what could be used as independent variables?

In the ruler drop experiment what is the dependent variable?

In the ruler drop experiment what is the dependent variable?

In the ruler drop experiment what must be controlled?

In the ruler drop experiment what must be controlled?

What is the average persons reaction time?

What is the average persons reaction time?

Write the equation that can be used to calculate thinking distance

Write the equation that can be used to calculate thinking distance

Recall Quiz

Which of these wouldn’t affect thinking distance:

Which of these wouldn’t increase thinking distance:

What is the correct equation to calculate thinking distance

Which of these is a suitable independent variable when investigating human reaction time?

Application Task

A driver notices a hazard and applies the brakes to their car.
The car is travelling at 12 m/s
The driver’s reaction time is 0.180 s
i.Calculate the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time.
ii.The driver then applies the brakes, moving a further 5m until completely stationary.
The hazard was 8 metres away. Did the car collide with the hazard?
iii.Suggest why the persons reaction time was slow


A driver is on the phone but notices a hazard and applies the brakes to their car.
The car is travelling at 30m/s
The driver’s reaction time is 0.260 s
i.Calculate the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time.
ii.The driver then applies the brakes, moving a further 10m until completely stationary.
The hazard was 15 metres away. Did the car collide with the hazard?
iii.Suggest why the persons reaction time was slow

A driver is on the phone but notices a hazard and applies the brakes to their car.
The car is travelling at 30m/s
The driver’s reaction time is 0.260 s
i.Calculate the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time.
ii.The driver then applies the brakes, moving a further 10m until completely stationary.
The hazard was 15 metres away. Did the car collide with the hazard?
iii.Suggest why the persons reaction time was slow

A driver has drunk 2 pints of beer and is driving home and notices a hazard and applies the brakes to their car.
The car is travelling at 45m/s
The driver’s reaction time is 0.425 s
i.Calculate the distance travelled during the driver’s reaction time.
ii.The driver then applies the brakes, moving a further 30m until completely stationary.
The hazard was 48 metres away. Did the car collide with the hazard?
iii.Suggest why the persons reaction time was slow

Exam style questions

Which one of the following would also increase the braking distance of the car?

The thinking distance depends on the driver’s reaction time.
The table shows the reaction times of three people driving under different conditions.

The graph lines show how the thinking distance for the three drivers, A, B, and C, depends on how fast they are driving the car.

(i) Match each graph line to the correct driver by writing A, B, or Cin the box next to the correct line.
(2)
(ii) The information in the table cannot be used to tell if driver C’s reaction time is increased by being tired or by listening to music. Explain why.

Q2. A man is driving his car at a constant speed on a wet road.
He sees a fallen tree on the wet road and tries to stop quickly to prevent an accident.


Explain why the man may not be able to stop in time.