Final answer:
A vehicle that hits another object is involved in a collision. In physics, this term is used to describe the event when multiple objects exert forces on each other, which is especially relevant in traffic accidents involving vehicles like cars and trucks. The correct answer is B.
Step-by-step explanation:
When a vehicle hits another object, the vehicle is involved in a collision. In physics, a collision refers to an event where two or more objects exert forces on each other in a relatively short amount of time. In the context provided, where a car and a truck meet at an intersection and collide, the incident is referred to as a traffic collision.
The resultant velocity of the combined wreckage after the collision can be determined using the conservation of momentum, which states that the total momentum of a closed system before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision if no external forces interfere.
In the example of a 1200 kg car traveling east at 60 km/hr and a 3000 kg truck traveling north at 40 km/hr, the combined velocity of the wreckage post-collision can be calculated by considering the individual momenta of the car and truck and then finding the resulting vector from the combination of these two momenta.