Question

When traveling through mountains, most highways periodically have emergency escape ramps to allow large, heavy vehicles to stop safely, even when their brakes are not working properly. One such escape ramp is angled 15 ∘ above the horizontal. The brakes on one large truck (mass 1.5×104 kg ) fail when driving at a speed of 80 miles per hour (35.75 m/s), and the driver makes use of the escape ramp. If instead dissipative forces (friction and air resistance) provide a constant force of 60,000N parallel to the ramp, what is the minimum length of ramp necessary for this truck to come to a stop?

Answer 1