A small car meshes with a large truck in a head-on collision.Which of the following statements concerning the momentum during the collision are correct? (There could be more than one correct choice.)
A)The momentum of the truck is constant.
B)The momentum of the car is constant.
C)The car and the truck must undergo the same change in speed.
D)The momentum of the car and the momentum of the truck are each constant.
E)The momentum of the car-truck system is constant, but the momentum of each one separately is not constant.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

During a collision, the law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of the system (in this case, the car and the truck) remains constant. However, the momentum of each object individually is not constant, as they experience an impulse that changes their momentum. Therefore, statement E is correct.

Statement A is incorrect because the momentum of the truck changes during the collision.

Statement B is incorrect because the momentum of the car changes during the collision.

Statement C is incorrect because the change in speed of the car and the truck depends on their masses and the forces involved in the collision. They may undergo different changes in speed.

Statement D is incorrect because it implies that the momentum of each object individually is constant, which is not the case during a collision.

A Small Car Meshes with a Large Truck in a Head-On