How Does a Longer Crumple Zone Affect Impact Duration and Passenger Safety?

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on the physics of a car with a longer crumple zone, specifically a 1980 kg car traveling at 13 m/s that stops in 2 seconds upon colliding with a wall. The force experienced by passengers during impact is calculated to be 3217.5 N. The new model's acceleration is derived using F=ma, leading to a calculated impact duration of 8 seconds. It is confirmed that the impulse on the car and its passengers remains unchanged, affirming the principles of momentum conservation.

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question states: a 1980 kg car moving at 13 m/s is brought to a stop in 2 seconds when it collides with a wall. if a new model of this car has a longer crumple zone, the passengers experience a 3217.5 N force upon impact. by what percentage has the period of impact been increased? has the impulse on the car and its passengers changed.

my attempt at this problem is to find the new model's acceleration by use F=ma, then use the kinematics Vf=Vo+at to find the period to be 8 sec. Then I can calculate the percentage by dividing the difference with the original period. But this somehow seemed to easy and I am not sure if it's right. Also, I would assume the impulse doesn't change since P=mv, but I am not sure on this.
 
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welcome to pf!

hi milkyway11! welcome to pf! :wink:

yes, your method looks fine (and yes, the impulse doesn't change) :smile:
 


Thank you!

tiny-tim said:
hi milkyway11! welcome to pf! :wink:

yes, your method looks fine (and yes, the impulse doesn't change) :smile:
 

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