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

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SUMMARY

In collisions between large trucks and passenger cars, the occupants of the car sustain more injuries due to the significant difference in mass and momentum. The discussion illustrates this with analogies involving a ping-pong ball and a bowling ball, emphasizing the principles of momentum and energy transfer during collisions. The kinetic energy of the ping-pong ball increases after colliding with the bowling ball, raising questions about the source of this additional energy, which is attributed to the conservation of momentum and energy principles. The truck's mass and momentum play a crucial role in determining the outcome of such collisions.

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bugbug
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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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