CourseGCSE Combined Science
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Braking, energy and safety explained

Video coming soon

The key ideas and the summary sheet for this lesson are ready now.

Key ideas

  1. Friction between brake pads and discs does work on the wheels.

  2. Energy moves from the car's kinetic store to the thermal store of the brakes, so the brakes heat up.

  3. Big decelerations can overheat brakes and make the driver lose control.

  4. Higher: use kinetic energy = work done = force × distance to estimate braking forces.