Chapter 7, Problem 37A

Does your answer to question 36 depend on the relative speeds of the vehicles?

To determine

To explain: Whether the impact force depends on the relative speeds of the vehicles or not.

Answer to Problem 37A

No, it does not.

Explanation of Solution

Introduction:

According to Newton’s third law of motion, force applied on any object produces an equal and opposite reaction.

When a car hits a stationary van then impact force is distributed equally to both forces. According to Newton’s third law of motion, even if a car is coming at a higher speed, it still will produce an impact on the van due to the action-reaction pair. That impact will be distributed to both the vehicles according to the law. Just because the car is coming at a higher speed, the magnitude of impact force increases.

Conclusion:

Thus, even with the higher impact speed before the collision, impact force will be distributed equally in both the vehicles after a collision.