Question

A car of m = 1200. kg collides with a tree while traveling 60.0 mph. The collision occurs over a time period of 0.0500 seconds. Determine the magnitude of the force exerted on the car as it comes to rest during the collision. (1 m/s = 2.24 mph) DOK 2

Answer 1

You may know linear momentum is given by P= mass.velocity. Initially car is moving with some velocity so you know initial momentum of the car. Finally it comes to rest i.e final momentum of the car is 0. According to Newton's second law : Force = change in momentum /time. Applying this you'll get answer as 642840N. Hope it helped you. Revert back to me if you have any questions. Please check out the calculation it might be wrong!

Answer 2

Force, F = 38.4 N

Step-by-step explanation:

It is given that,

Mass of the car, m = 1200 kg

Initial velocity of the car, u = 60 m/h = 0.016 m/s

The collision occurs over a time period of 0.0500 seconds.

Force, F = m a

`F=1200\ kg* (0-0.0016\ m/s)/(0.05\ s)`

F = -38.4 N

The magnitude of the force exerted on the car as it comes to rest during the collision is 38.4 N