Question

1. officials are looking into three different ski accidents. the accidents happened when three skiers (all with the same mass) were skiing across flat, snowy ground. they were each bumped by another skier, but not all from the same direction. these skiers changed speed as a result of being bumped. use the information in the diagram to answer. which skier(s) experienced the strongest force when bumped? how do you know? a the skiers in the yellow and purple sweaters; they both gained the same force as they sped up, but the skier in the red sweater lost force and slowed down. b the skier in the yellow sweater experienced the strongest force because he has the fastest ending speed. c all three skiers experienced the same strength force because they changed speed by the same amount. d the skier in the red sweater because it takes a stronger force to slow something down than to speed it up.

Explanation:

Step1: Recall Newton's second law

$F = ma$, where $F$ is force, $m$ is mass and $a$ is acceleration. Acceleration is change in velocity over time. Since mass is the same for all skiers.

Step2: Analyze speed - change

If the change in speed (magnitude of change in velocity) is the same for all skiers in the same time - interval, then the acceleration (magnitude) is the same for all of them.

Step3: Determine force

Since $m$ is the same and $a$ is the same for all skiers according to the given speed - change information, from $F = ma$, the force experienced by all three skiers is the same.

Answer:

C. All three skiers experienced the same strength force because they changed speed by the same amount.