A truck going 15 km/h has a head-on collision with a small car going 30 km/h. Which statement best describes the situation?

a. The truck has the greater change of momentum because it has the greater mass.

b. None of the above is necessarily true.

c. Neither the car nor the truck changes its momentum in the collision because momentum is conserved.

d. They both have the same change in magnitude of momentum because momentum is conserved.

e. The car has the greater change of momentum because it has the greater speed.

Question

Physics

Stacy

2 December, 19:10

A truck going 15 km/h has a head-on collision with a small car going 30 km/h. Which statement best describes the situation?

a. The truck has the greater change of momentum because it has the greater mass.

b. None of the above is necessarily true.

c. Neither the car nor the truck changes its momentum in the collision because momentum is conserved.

d. They both have the same change in magnitude of momentum because momentum is conserved.

e. The car has the greater change of momentum because it has the greater speed.

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Answers (1)

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Natalia Massey · Answer 1

d. They both have the same change in magnitude of momentum because momentum is conserved.

Explanation:

We know that if there is no any external force on the system the linear momentum of the system remain conserve. Or in the other other words change in the linear momentum is zero.

Here the external force is zero, that is why initial and the final momentum will be conserved.

change in the momentum for both car as well as truck will be same. Because momentum should be conserved.

Therefore the answer is - d