Final answer:
To estimate the average force on a car in the Gizmo, you need the car's velocity before impact and the collision duration, or the car's acceleration before impact. Mass alone doesn't provide enough information for acceleration, as it's also dependent on net force and friction.
Step-by-step explanation:
To estimate the average force exerted by the wall on the car in the Gizmo, you would need the velocity of the car just before impact and the duration of the collision or the negative acceleration of the car before it hits the wall. Since force can be calculated using the equation F = ma (force equals mass times acceleration), knowing the mass alone is not sufficient because acceleration depends on various factors, such as the force applied on the car and the friction between the car and the surface. Also, experiments have shown that acceleration is inversely proportional to mass, given a constant net external force.
To answer the specific choice question you asked: If the mass is known, what is the estimated acceleration of the car in the Gizmo? the correct answer would be B) Not enough information. Although mass does affect acceleration, other variables such as net force and friction are crucial to determining acceleration.