Question

Suppose you were driving along a large flat surface at a velocity of 30 m/s to the east. Directly in front of you, 264 meters away, you see a bomb which is set to detonate in exactly 7 seconds. The surface is a bit slick, but you know that your vehicle can accelerate with a maximum magnitude of 5 m/s/s in any direction. In order to be the furthest from the bomb when it detonates, would it be best to brake and then throw your car into reverse, accelerate forwards to drive past the bomb, or put all of your acceleration into radial acceleration and turn along the arc of a circle?

Answer 1