Question

a company tests the safety of a variety of vehicles. all the vehicles will travel at the same speed before colliding with a wall. based on the experiment we conducted in class, we can predict the strength of the forces that the vehicles will experience in a collision. which vehicle will deliver the strongest force during the collision?

Explanation:

Step1: Recall the formula for force

According to Newton's second law, \(F = ma\). In a collision - like situation (where the time of collision \(\Delta t\) is considered, and using the impulse - momentum theorem \(F\Delta t=\Delta p = m\Delta v\), assuming \(\Delta t\) and \(\Delta v\) (the change in velocity) are the same for all vehicles as they start with the same speed and come to rest (or a similar final state) after collision.

Step2: Compare the masses

The truck has a larger mass \(m\) compared to the car and the SUV. Since \(F\propto m\) (when \(\Delta t\) and \(\Delta v\) are constant), the vehicle with the largest mass will experience the strongest force.

Answer:

The truck will deliver the strongest force during the collision.