Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Interactives Work and Energy Stopping Distance Notes

Stopping Distance Notes

Notes:

The Stopping Distance Interactive is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Interactive can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom. This Interactive does not display as nicely on all phones and we do not recommend its use on many phones.

Teaching Ideas and Suggestions:

This Interactive can be used at nearly any stage of a learning cycle on work and energy. The emphasis of the activity is on the use of scientific reasoning to answer a question. Since an understanding of the work-energy relationship would provide a strong sense of what the answer is to the question, it is best that this Interactive be used before the development or in the early stages of the development of the work-energy relationship. An activity sheet accompanies this Interactive and is highly recommended for those instructors who wish to use the activity as a strong exercise in scientific reasoning. Of course, beyond the reasoning associated with this exercise, the Interactive provides a great pre-cursor to the application of the work-energy theorem (W = ∆KE) to stopping distances of cars. The stopping distance is part of the work term in the equation; the speed is part of the kinetic energy term in the equation. Expanding the W = ∆KE equation to include F•d and 0.5•m•v2 will help learners to understand the relationship discovered in the Interactive.

Our Stopping Distance simulation is now available with a Concept Checker. Do the simulation. Then follow it up with the Concept Checker.

Related Resources:

There are numerous resources at The Physics Classroom website that serve as very complementary supports for the Stopping Distance Interactive. These include:
  • Minds On Physics Internet Modules:
    The Minds On Physics Internet Modules include a collection of interactive questioning modules that help learners assess their understanding of physics concepts and solidify those understandings by answering questions that require higher-order thinking. Assignments WE3, WE5, WE9, and WE10 of the Work and Energy module provide great complements to this Interactive. They are best used in the middle to later stages of the learning cycle. Visit the Minds On Physics Internet Modules.

 
  • Curriculum/Practice: Several Concept Development worksheets at the Curriculum Corner will be very useful in assisting students in cultivating their understanding, most notably ...

    Work
    Work-Energy Relationships

    Visit the Curriculum Corner.

     
  • Labwork:
    Simulations should always support (never supplant) hands-on learning. The Laboratory section of The Physics Classroom website includes several hands-on ideas that complement this Interactive. Four notable lab ideas include ...

    Marble Energy Lab
    Marble Energy II Lab
    Work-Kinetic Energy Lab
    Stopping Distance Lab

    Visit The Laboratory.
  • Science Reasoning Activities:
    Science classrooms should be filled with reasoning activities. There is one very related activity in the Work and Energy section of the Science Reasoning Center that will challenge students to employ close reading, data analysis, and logical reasoning. The activity is named ...

    Hot Wheels Stopping Distance

    Visit the Science Reasoning Center.

Additional resources and ideas for incorporating Stopping Distance into an instructional unit on work and energy can be found at the Teacher Toolkits section of The Physics Classroom website. Visit Teacher Toolkits.

Visit: Stopping Distance Interactive