Question

The bumper cars crash into each other and stop. Explain why both bumper cars stop after the crash. [4marks]

Answer 1

When two bumper cars crash into each other, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other, causing them both to come to a stop. This is due to the conservation of momentum in a collision.

Step-by-step explanation:

When two bumper cars crash into each other, they experience a collision. During the collision, both cars exert a force on each other, causing them to come to a stop. According to Newton's third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This means that the force exerted by Car 1 on Car 2 is equal in magnitude and opposite in direction to the force exerted by Car 2 on Car 1.

As a result, both cars experience a change in momentum. Car 1 slows down and loses some of its momentum, while Car 2 speeds up and gains some momentum. The total momentum of the two-car system, however, remains constant. This is because momentum is conserved in a collision, meaning that the total momentum before the collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision. Therefore, both cars come to a stop after the crash.

Answer 2

The collision is inelastic

Step-by-step explanation:

There are two kinds of collision; elastic collision and inelastic collision. In an elastic collision, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.

However, in an inelastic collision, kinetic energy is not conserved. So, when the bumper of two cars collide, the cars come to a stop because the collision is inelastic.