During one section of the race, another vehicle’s tyres become stuck in some muddy
ground. Nicholas lets some air out of his vehicle’s tyres before he attempts that section.
The area of contact between each tyre and the ground is now larger than before.
b. Compare the pressure the tyres now exert on the ground, to the pressure calculated
in part c.
In your answer you should:
- Refer to force and area
- Explain any differences in how deep the tyres would sink into the ground.
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c. During another section of the race, the vehicle falls off the edge of a small cliff which
is 4.0 m high. The vehicle (total mass 1700kg) hit the ground 4.0 m below at a speed
of 8.9 ms-1.
Explain the difference in the energy the vehicle had when it was at the top of the
cliff and the energy it had just before hitting the ground below.
In your answer you should:
 name the types of energy the vehicle has at both the top and just before
hitting the ground at the bottom of the cliff
 calculate how much energy the vehicle had at the top and just before hitting
the ground at the bottom of the cliff
 calculate the difference in these two energy values
 explain why the energy values are different using science ideas.