You triple your vehicle's speed. According to the Florida manual, what happens to its force of impact?
-
A.
Impact rises by roughly six times.
-
B.
Impact grows nine times greater. Correct
-
C.
Impact doubles, matching what happens when speed only doubles.
-
D.
It matches the speed increase: three times the force.
The answer is "Impact grows nine times greater."
The Florida manual states that tripling the speed of a car increases its force of impact nine times, because impact grows with the square of speed rather than in step with it. Choice D tempts drivers who assume force of impact rises in direct proportion to speed, so tripling the speed feels like it should triple the impact.
The traps in the wrong answers
A. Impact rises by roughly six times.
The manual gives nine times for tripling and four times for doubling, with no intermediate figure of six. This answer multiplies the two speed multipliers (double and triple) to land on six, treating the plain-speed factors as combinable rather than reading the manual's separate figure for tripling.
C. Impact doubles, matching what happens when speed only doubles.
The manual says doubling speed makes impact four times greater and tripling makes it nine times greater, so doubling is not the answer at either step. This answer latches onto the word 'double' in the paragraph and pairs it with impact rather than speed, missing that the multiplier for doubled speed is four, not two.
D. It matches the speed increase: three times the force.
Force of impact grows with the square of speed, not in step with it, so tripling the speed of a car increases impact nine times. This answer reads 'triple' in the question as the ready-made answer for impact, applying a straight-line scaling habit that the manual's squared rule overrides.
This question tests your knowledge of Speed Limits in Florida. Source: Florida Driver Manual, "Speed Limits," p.68..
Related Florida questions
- You are driving on a Florida residential street with no posted speed limit sign. What is the standard limit? →
- You are on a Florida highway with a posted speed limit of 70 MPH. What is the minimum speed you may drive? →
- How far over the posted speed limit does Florida law allow you to drive before you can be cited? →
- On a Florida multi-lane road you cannot safely move over for a stopped patrol car with flashing lights. What must you do? →
- When you double the speed of your vehicle, by how much does its force of impact increase? →
You just took one Florida question apart. The book does it for the whole test.
The Florida book unlocks a free companion: an adaptive study plan, progress synced across your devices, a denser laminate cheat sheet, and a test-day walkthrough. Verify your copy once, usually in seconds; there's nothing extra to buy.
$18.99 paperback, free companion included.