Calculating Distance Traveled during a Uniformly Accelerated Motion

Understanding the Scenario

A car initially traveling at a speed of 16 meters per second is uniformly brought to a rest in 4.0 seconds. We need to determine how far the car travels during this 4.0 second interval.

Final Answer

The car, slowing at a constant rate from 16 m/s to 0 m/s over 4.0 seconds, travels a distance of 32 meters during this period as computed using the equations of motion.

Explanation

The motion described in the question is uniform motion, also known as uniformly-accelerated motion because the car is slowing down at a constant rate. This type of problem is typically solved using the equations of motion.

Since the car was brought to rest, its final velocity is 0 m/s. It started at 16 m/s and this occurred over a 4.0 s interval. We can use the equation d = (v1 + v2) / 2 * t. Substituting the known values we get d = (16 m/s + 0 m/s) / 2 * 4.0 s = 32 m. Hence, the car travels 32 meters during the 4.0 second interval.