Question

1. three skiers were racing across flat, smooth snow. the skiers in yellow and purple sweaters have the same mass, which is more mass than the skier in the red sweater. each skier was bumped by another skier, but not from the same direction. use the information in the diagram to answer.

which skier(s) experienced the strongest force when bumped? how do you know?
all three skiers experienced the same force because they changed speed by the same amount.
the purple skier; he is more massive and has the fastest ending speed.
the yellow skier; it takes a stronger force to slow down a more massive object than to speed it up.
the yellow and purple skiers: they have more mass than the red skier, but changed speed by the same amount.
scroll for more
back

Explanation:

According to Newton's second law \(F = ma\) (where \(F\) is force, \(m\) is mass, and \(a\) is acceleration). Acceleration \(a=\frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}\). If \(\Delta v\) (change in speed) and \(\Delta t\) (time interval) are the same for different objects, the force \(F\) is directly proportional to the mass \(m\). The yellow and purple skiers have the same mass (and more mass than the red - skier). Since their change in speed (assuming the time of the bump is the same) is considered (as per the problem's context of comparing forces based on mass and speed - change relation in the bumping scenario), the force is related to mass when acceleration (proportional to \(\frac{\Delta v}{\Delta t}\)) is considered.

Answer:

d. The yellow and purple skiers: they have more mass than the red skier, but changed speed by the same amount.