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4. Physics and Natural Laws

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1. Introduction

All drivers are subject to the natural laws and laws of physics that affect any moving, or stationary, object. There are many natural forces acting on your vehicle, such as:

  • gravity
  • inertia
  • momentum
  • kinetic and potential energy
  • friction
  • centrifugal force

  • These forces affect how your vehicle handles, regardless of how well your vehicle is designed or how skilled you are at handling it.

    Understanding these forces will help you control your vehicle during turns, stops, and everyday driving conditions. Knowing how they affect driving your vehicle may also help you react appropriately to an emergency situation or avoid a collision.

    Otherwise, you may lose control of your vehicle and could cause an accident that could have been prevented.

    By misjudging natural forces, you can be pulled out of a curve and lose control. You may lose traction on wet pavement and be unable to stop or be traveling too fast to stop quickly in heavy traffic and cause an accident.


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    Lesson Summary


      

    Lesson 4 Quiz


    You will now answer 5 questions to test what you learned during this lesson. You must answer all questions correctly to receive completion credit for this lesson. You may answer the questions as many times as necessary to get them right.

    You should review the lesson material if you don't do well on the quiz.

    1. According to the formula for stopping distance, how many feet will it take you to stop, from 60 mph?


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    2. Centrifugal force:


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    3. The primary factor in decreasing the Kinetic Energy of an object is to:


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    4. Gravity:


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    5. The best way to maximize the traction of your tires is to:


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