Question

What will happen if the traction force is negative?

(a) The vehicle will accelerate

(b) The vehicle will decelerate

(c) The vehicle will first accelerate and then decelerate

(d) The vehicle will run at a constant speed

Answer 1

The correct choice is (b) The vehicle will decelerate

To elaborate: Fnet = mvehicle* avehicle = Ftraction – Frolling – Faerodynamic. If the Ftractionis negative, then Fnet will be more negative ⇒ avehicle is negative. Therefore the vehicle will decelerate.