Consider two less-than-desirable options. In the first you are driving 30 mph and crash head-on into an identical car also going 30 mph. In the second option you are driving 30 mph and crash
Head-on into a stationary brick wall. In neither case does your car bounce back from the thing it
Hits, and the collision time is the same in both cases. Which of these two situations would result in
The greater impact force on your car?
A) hitting the brick wall
B) The force would be the same in both cases.
C) hitting the other car
D) None of the above choices are correct.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The force experienced by your car in both scenarios would be the same if the collision time is the same. This is because the change in momentum (which determines the force through the impulse-momentum theorem, where force times time equals change in momentum) would be the same in both cases: in both scenarios, your car goes from 30 mph to 0 mph.

Consider Two Less-Than-Desirable Options