Question

A car with a mass of 103 kilograms traveling at a speed of 50 kilometers/hour (13.9 meters/second) collides with a stationary car. The duration of the collision is 1 second. After the collision the speed of the moving car is reduced to 5 kilometers/hour (1.4 meters/second). What is the value of the force involved in the collision?

Answer 1

A. 1.2 × 10^4 newtons

Answer 2

Force, according to Newton's second law of motion, is calculated through the equation,
F = m x a
where F is force, m is mass, and a is acceleration.
We are already given with the mass of 103 kg, we therefore need to solve for the acceleration.
acceleration = (13.9 m/s - 1.4 m/s) / 1 s = 12.5 m/s²
Then, we substitute this value to the equation above.
F = (103 kg) x (12.5 m/s²)
F = 1287.5 N
Thus, the force involved in the collision is approximately 1287.5 N.