Forces and acceleration of truck and car collision

AI Thread Summary
In a collision between a large truck and a small car, the force exerted by the truck on the car is equal to the force exerted by the car on the truck, as stated by Newton's Third Law. However, the magnitude of the truck's acceleration is less than that of the car's acceleration due to the difference in their masses, as explained by Newton's Second Law. This means that while the forces are equal, the larger mass of the truck results in a smaller acceleration compared to the lighter car. Understanding these principles requires a grasp of both Newton's laws and the concept of conservation of momentum. The discussion emphasizes the importance of these fundamental physics concepts in analyzing collisions.
cheerios456c
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
A very large truck collides head on with a small car. At the instant of collision the force of the truck on the car is _________ the force of the car on the truck and the magnitude of the acceleration of the truck is __________ the magnitude of the acceleration of the car.

I know that the answer is equal to, less than but I'm having trouble understanding why. If someone could explain to me why this is, I would greatly appreciate it.

Thanks!
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Look up Newton's Third Law.
You'll need the formula relating force to acceleration to understand the second part.
 
Welcome to PF.

The first answer "equal to" is from Newton's laws - usually the third one.
The second one "less than" is due to conservation of momentum... but can be understood from the first answer if you consider that the forces are equal but the masses are not. (Newton's second law.)

It looks like you are learning about Newton's Laws of motion.
 

Thread 'Errors and significant figures'

I multiplied the values first without the error limit. Got 19.38. rounded it off to 2 significant figures since the given data has 2 significant figures. So = 19. For error I used the above formula. It comes out about 1.48. Now my question is. Should I write the answer as 19±1.5 (rounding 1.48 to 2 significant figures) OR should I write it as 19±1. So in short, should the error have same number of significant figures as the mean value or should it have the same number of decimal places as...
View full post »
Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Thread 'A cylinder connected to a hanging mass'

Let's declare that for the cylinder, mass = M = 10 kg Radius = R = 4 m For the wall and the floor, Friction coeff = ##\mu## = 0.5 For the hanging mass, mass = m = 11 kg First, we divide the force according to their respective plane (x and y thing, correct me if I'm wrong) and according to which, cylinder or the hanging mass, they're working on. Force on the hanging mass $$mg - T = ma$$ Force(Cylinder) on y $$N_f + f_w - Mg = 0$$ Force(Cylinder) on x $$T + f_f - N_w = Ma$$ There's also...
View full post »

Similar threads

Newton's Second Law: Understanding Forces, Masses, and Acceleration
Replies
3
Views
2K
Determining position of an object after inelastic collision
Replies
1
Views
2K
Problem with the power of car
Replies
3
Views
815
How can we model a rolling truck on an incline using rotational motion analysis?
Replies
24
Views
2K
How Does Newton's Third Law Apply When a Truck Pulls a Car?
Replies
4
Views
4K
Solving a Head-on Collision: Qs 1-4
Replies
5
Views
3K
Solving Momentum & Force for Car & Truck Collision
Replies
3
Views
1K
How Long Does It Take a Car to Overtake a Truck?
Replies
25
Views
3K
How long does it take for the car to catch up to the truck on a straight track?
Replies
19
Views
2K
Why Can External Road Forces Be Neglected in a Collision Analysis?
Replies
7
Views
3K

Hot Threads

Recent Insights

Back
Top