is force of an car at 25 mph hitting prked carequal to car at 35mph hitting 10 mph car going in same direction

Answer 1

Yes

The energy, theoretically would be exactly the same, but since the car being hit is actually rolling on it's wheels, and deflection can occur, then there would be less energy lost.

But it the wheels were locked on the car ahead, and you hit it squarely, then it would be effectively the same.

Answer 2

The answer is sort of yes and no; depending on how you look at it.

A stationary car is not moving, and is not therefore subject to rolling resistance (friction) and wind-resistance (assuming a still day without wind), so that it would make the car being struck just a little less heavy in real terms; but only at the exact moment of impact.

The other thing is the fact that a parked car would have its brakes applied, and whilst the initial bang would be the same as the moving-car situation, the effect of the brakes would have implications as to the severity of the whole accident, rather than just the first moment of impact.

Naturally, a moving target is easier to accelerate than one which has a brake applied, but for the reasons stated above, one has to take into account rolling and air resistance.

Of course, if you're driving a truck weighing in at 44 tonnes at 35mph, and hit a car doing 10mph; the car accelerates surprisingly quickly!

Answer 3

This is actually a hard question because it depends on a lot of variables. If the parked car is in neutral with the parking brake off, then the for will be the same as if the car moving at 10mph in case #2 is in neutral with the parking brake off.

Normally however, a parked car will be held in place by some means (Parking gear, parking brake etc.) therefore it will tend to stay in place so the force of the impact will be greater.

So in summary, if all things are equal in the two scenarios then yes, but the chances of all things being equal are very slim.

Answer 4

I'm no expert in physics but I'd say no. Certainly the relative speeds are the same. But in the case where both cars are moving, the car in front is already moving away from the other car. At the true instant of impact, the difference in speed in 25mph in both scenarios. But the car going 10mph is already moving whereas the motionless car would absorb more energy from the initial impact. Again, that's just a guess.

Answer 5

no And the reason is the one that is moving is going to be pushed along because it is already rolling. there will be damage but no where near as much as one that is parked. momentum is the key.