Question about NEWTON'S LAWS?

Question

A massive truck collides with a small spot car. which vehicle experiences the greater force of impact?

Answer 1

The same force is experienced for both.
But the acceleration is more obvious in the small spot car due to lighter mass.

Answer 2

The small spot car will experience the greater force, not because it is small, but because the truck had a certain speed, let say V1, and the small car speed V2 was equal to zero.

When the collision occur, the car will have not just an new speed different to zero, but most importantly an acceleration which will create the force, F (vehicule) = M (vehicule) X Gamma (acceleration vehicule), while we will see a decrease of the speed of the truck so also a negative acceleration (or decceleration) of the Truck, with a force F(truck) = M (truck) X GammaT (decceleration).

If you wan't to solve this without any calculation, just think that the car will move after the collision, so there is no equilibrium between forces, thus the force on the car is greater in general.

To solve this in a scientific way, all you need is the speed of the truck and the Mass of both the car and the truck.

Hope this helped

Answer 3

Each vehicle "feels" the force of the impact equally. However, each vehicle's reaction to the force differs based on the mass of each vehicle. Thus, the small sports car is both moved further and damaged more by the impact than the "massive" truck,

Answer 4

FilmGhost is on it. The force felt by each is equal in magnitude, though obviously not directionally!

What one is most likely to notice though is the result. Force = mass * acceleration ( F = ma ) so the truck, veryyyy massive comparatively will feel less acceleration opposite to its direction of travel than the smallll sports car with its lesser mass. So the sports car driver will feel a much more pronounced acceleration opposite his direction of travel and observers will wince much harder in sympathetic pain seeing him tossed back than the truck which probably will continue in the same direction.

But the force of impact is still the same for both, regardless.

Answer 5

Force= mass * acceleration

Since the truck has greater mass, assuming the acceleration of both vehicles is similar, the truck will *have* the greater force and the car will *receive* that force on impact.

Answer 6

We are talking about Impact force.
So the lighter car experiences a stronger Impact force since it has a smaller mass. It is the transfer of momentum.
The lighter car will feel a stronger IMPACT.

THink about it practically... If you're in a Smart car and get hit by a Mack truck. Which one will get smashed? The Smart car will. The truck driver probably wouldn't even notice.

Answer 7

The small spot car does. The truck is more massive thus having more momentum due to its large mass. The small car recieves a great impact because of its smaller mass and less momentum.

Answer 8

The small spot car because momentum is not lost according to the law of conservation of momentum. The momentum is traveled to the car and the car starts moving at the same speed that the truck was moving at.

Answer 9

What part of equal and opposite didn't you understand?

Sorry to be a smartass. ;)

edit:

Sigh, the answer above is correct; the two below aren't.

Note to folks who think they can use their intution to answer: the question doesn't ask which DRIVER experiences more force. The sports car driver obviously gets plowed worse then the truckdriver. But Newton's Law is quite clear that the bodies in the collision exert equal and opposite force.

Seriously people, RTFQ. Read the f question. Then read Newton's laws. This question is meant to trick people who don't just read and answer.

Answer 10

the lighter car

Newtons laws say

F = ma

when you compare a truck with a huge mass, against a car

the car will be swept away by the truck

a better example would be road bumps

in a small car, you feel every road bump on clearly and sharply
but on a Truck, the feeling is lessened.