Halliday, Resnick & Walker — Equilibrium and Elasticity: Problem Problem_32

In Fig. 12.34, the driver of a car on a horizontal road makes an emergency stop by applying the brakes so that all four wheels lock and skid along the road. The coefficient of kinetic friction between tires and road is 0.40. The separation between the front and rear axles is \(L = 4.2 \text{ m}\), and the center of mass of the car is located at distance \(d = 1.8 \text{ m}\) behind the front axle and distance \(h = 0.75 \text{ m}\) above the road. The car weighs 11 kN. Find the magnitude of (a) the braking acceleration of the car, (b) the normal force on each rear wheel, (c) the normal force on each front wheel, (d) the braking force on each rear wheel, and (e) the braking force on each front wheel. (Hint: Although the car is not in translational equilibrium, it is in rotational equilibrium.)