Question

A van of mass 1200kg was moving at a velocity of 8m/s when it was involved in a head on collision with a lorry moving in the opposite direction. Assuming that the van came to stop after the collision,

1. calculate the momentum of the van before the collision
2. work out the momentum of the van after the collision
3. find the change in momentum of the van
4. if the van took 0.3s to stop, calculate the force that acted on each driver.

Answer 1

The momentum of the van before the collision can be calculated as:

momentum = mass x velocity

momentum = 1200 kg x 8 m/s

momentum = 9600 kg⋅m/s

Therefore, the momentum of the van before the collision was 9600 kg⋅m/s.

After the collision, the van came to a stop, which means its final velocity was 0 m/s. The momentum of the van after the collision is:

momentum = mass x velocity

momentum = 1200 kg x 0 m/s

momentum = 0 kg⋅m/s

Therefore, the momentum of the van after the collision was 0 kg⋅m/s.

The change in momentum of the van can be calculated as:

change in momentum = final momentum - initial momentum

change in momentum = 0 kg⋅m/s - 9600 kg⋅m/s

change in momentum = -9600 kg⋅m/s

Therefore, the change in momentum of the van was -9600 kg⋅m/s.

The force that acted on each driver can be calculated using the formula:

force = change in momentum/time

force = (-9600 kg⋅m/s) / (0.3 s)

force = -32000 N

The negative sign indicates that the force acted in the opposite direction to the motion of the van.

Therefore, the force that acted on each driver was 32000 N.

Step-by-step explanation: