A small car makes a head-on collision with a large truck on an icy pavement. Bef
ID: 1436613 • Letter: A
Question
A small car makes a head-on collision with a large truck on an icy pavement. Before they collide, they were traveling with the same speed (but in opposite directions). During the collision, which vehicle experiences the greater collision force? During the collision, which vehicle experiences the greater acceleration? Which vehicle had the larger change in momentum? Which vehicle had the larger change in velocity? Assuming the car driver and the truck driver have the same mass, which driver experiences the greater force during the collision?Explanation / Answer
a-e) according to newton's third law the reaction force is the same between bodies in contact, this means that no matter the mass of each vehicle, they experience the same force.
b) Using newton's second law
F=ma.
We established that the force is the same between objects but since the car has less mass, the acceleration it experiences is greater than the truck
d) A greater acceleration implies a grater final velocity, then the car experiences also a greater change in velocity.
c) The momentum change is equal to m(v2-v1). Since the car has a greater change in velocity it experiences a greater charge in momentum also, but the momentum of the whole system is always preserved