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A large truck and a small car have a head-on collision. Which scenario is true?

AThe truck exerts a greater force on the car than the car exerts on the truck.
BThe car exerts a greater force on the truck than the truck exerts on the car.
CThe force that the truck exerts on the car and the force that the car exerts on the truck are the same magnitude.

Verified Answer :

akande212

Answer:

The correct answer is option C. By Newton's third law. The force that the car exerts on the truck is equal in magnitude but opposite in direction to the force the truck exerts on the car.

Explanation:

From Newton's third law which states that action and reaction are equal but opposite in direction. The forces between both vehicles are the same in magnitude but opposite in direction. Although they apply forces of equal magnitude on each other, the effect of this force is different on each of the vehicles.

From Newton's second law this force is related to the acceleration of each vehicle by the formula

F = mass × acceleration

If this force is the same in magnitude for both vehicles and let the mass of the truck and car be M and m respectively.

Let a(truck) and a(car) represent the accelerations of the truck and car respectively.

Then,

F = M×a(truck) = m×a(car)

Obviously the truck is a bigger vehicle than the car so, M > m. Since M > m the acceleration of the truck will be lesser than the acceleration of the car. This is a very practical result that happens almost everyday. The car on colliding with the truck bouces back at high speed while the truck on the other hand moves only a little distance because of its mass.

So, basically for the same magnitude of force, the greater the mass the lesser the acceleration and vice versa. Thank you for reading.

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