Question

Two cars are traveling directly towards each other. Car A is traveling east while car B is traveling west. Describe what would have to be true of the cars for them to stop completely when they collide for each of the following scenarios:Car A has the same mass as car B:Car A is traveling at twice the speed as Car B

Answer 1

Car A has the same mass as car B:

Step-by-step explanation

Step 1

Diagram

When the two cars collide, your car pushes on the other car. By Newton's third law, that car pushes on your car with the same force, but in the opposite direction. This force causes you to slow down.

Step 2

The momentum of a moving object is equal to its mass multiplied by its velocity.

`momemtum(p)=\text{ mass\lparen m\rparen *velocity\lparen v\rparen}`

Thus, a fast-moving car has more momentum than a slow-moving car, if they have the same mass and the smae speed, they will have the same momemtum, A force on an object changes the object's momentum where momentum is mass times velocity.

so, the answer is

Car A has the same mass as car B: