A scooter is travelling in a straight line at 10m s−1 when the rider suddenly sees an obstacle 20m ahead. The rider’s reaction time is 0.5s. As soon as the brakes are applied, the scooter experiences a uniform retardation of 4m s−2.
(i) Calculate the distance travelled by the scooter during the rider’s reaction time.
(ii) Determine the distance required to bring the scooter to rest after the brakes are applied.
(iii) Using your answers to parts (i) and (ii), decide whether the scooter will collide with the obstacle. Support your answer with suitable calculations.