Truck colliding with passenger car - Who will be more hurt?

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In a collision between a large truck and a passenger car, the car's occupants are at greater risk of injury due to the significant weight difference and momentum of the truck. The discussion uses a ping-pong ball and bowling ball analogy to illustrate how kinetic energy and momentum work during impacts. When the ping-pong ball strikes the bowling ball, it reverses direction while the bowling ball moves slightly forward, demonstrating energy transfer. The extra kinetic energy observed in the ping-pong ball after the collision is attributed to the conservation of momentum, with energy coming from the bowling ball's motion. Understanding these principles is crucial for analyzing the dynamics of vehicle collisions.
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I have two questions guys.

When a large, heavy truck collides with a passenger car, the occupants of the car are more likely to be hurt than the truck driver. Why?

There is a picture of a moving ping-pong ball striking a stationary bowling ball which shows the ping-pong ball hitting the bowling then going opposite direction while the bowling ball moves forward a little bit. On the second, there is a moving bowling ball striking a stationary ping-pong ball. Both go forward obviously. The question is: The kinetic energy of the Ping-Pong ball is larger after its interaction with the bowling ball than before. From where does the extra energy come? Describe the event in terms of conservation of energy.

Thanks for the help.
 
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bugbug said:
When a large, heavy truck collides with a passenger car, the occupants of the car are more likely to be hurt than the truck driver. Why?
Why do you think?
bugbug said:
There is a picture of a moving ping-pong ball striking a stationary bowling ball which shows the ping-pong ball hitting the bowling then going opposite direction while the bowling ball moves forward a little bit. On the second, there is a moving bowling ball striking a stationary ping-pong ball. Both go forward obviously. The question is: The kinetic energy of the Ping-Pong ball is larger after its interaction with the bowling ball than before. From where does the extra energy come? Describe the event in terms of conservation of energy.
Where do you think it comes from?
 
I think the first is momentum and weight of the truck. I'm not completely sure about the second but I was thinking the energy comes from the bowling ball.
 
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