How Many Cars are Breaking the Speed Limit

20 Points

Name:__________________________      Date:____________        Period:______

velocity = distance/time

1.       Measure the distance between two points on or along the road, such as signs or telephone poles.  Insert this distance into the table below in the distance traveled column.

        One way to do this is to estimate the length of your normal step (gait), then count the number of steps between your two markers.

        To find the length of your gate, pace a known area, then divide the distance by the number of paces.         

       To find an unknown distance, pace it out, counting the number of steps, and then multiple the amount by the distance/step.  Insert his amount in the Distance column below.    

2.    Time cars as they move through the measured distance.  Insert each car's time into the table below in the time column.

3.    Compute the speed of each vehicle.  Compute the average speed.

4.    Determine the speed limit in MPH and convert it to m/s.

__________MPH x 1.6 Km/1 Mile x 1000 m/1 Km x 1 hour/3600 second = ______________

5.    Count the number of cars above that have a velocity greater than the speed limit.  Determine the percentage breaking the law by dividing the number of cars by 10 (the total cars sampled).  Multiply the result by 100.  Make a chart to illustrate the percentage of cars that are breaking the law.