Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

A big truck of mass M moving at speed V(truck) runs into a little car which was moving 10 m/s slower. The truck crushes the rear end of the car, and the two continue down the road at V(final).

  1. How fast was the car moving before the collision?
  2. What is the mass of the car?

The force of the truck on the car's rear end changed with time, as shown above.

  1. What was the average force exerted on the car by the truck?
  2. What was the average force exerted on the truck by the car?

Let's move on ...

Creative Commons License Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.