If a fly collides with the windshield of a fast moving bus
a) which experiences the greater impact force: the fly or the bus, or is the same force experienced by both?
b)which experiences the greater acceleration: the fly or the bus or is the same acceleration experienced by both?
They both experience the same impact force however the fly will experience a greater acceleration
i) Both of them will experience the same impact force
ii) the fly experiences greater acceleration
a) To determine which experiences the greater impact force, we can consider Newton's second law of motion, which states that force is equal to mass multiplied by acceleration. The force experienced by an object is directly proportional to its mass and the acceleration it undergoes.
In this case, the mass of the bus is significantly greater than the mass of the fly. The fly collides with the bus, so both the fly and the bus experience a change in velocity. However, due to the much larger mass of the bus, the acceleration experienced by the bus is much smaller than that experienced by the fly.
Therefore, the impact force will be greater on the fly compared to the bus. The force experienced by the fly will cause a significant change in its velocity, while the bus, with its larger mass, will experience a smaller change in velocity.
b) The acceleration experienced by an object is also determined by Newton's second law of motion, which states that acceleration is equal to force divided by the mass of the object. The acceleration experienced by an object is inversely proportional to its mass.
In this scenario, the bus has a significantly larger mass than the fly. When a force acts on an object, the acceleration produced is smaller if the mass of the object is larger. Therefore, the fly, with its smaller mass, would experience a greater acceleration compared to the bus.
So, the fly experiences the greater acceleration while colliding with the bus, as the bus has a larger mass that leads to a smaller change in its velocity, resulting in a smaller acceleration.