In terms of impulse and momentum, why are airbags in automobiles a good idea?
A.)Airbags actually do not help if a car is in an accident.
B.)They increase the amount of force involved in a collision.
C.)They decrease the amount of time for a collision to happen.
D.)They increase the amount of time for a collision to happen.
E.)They decrease the mass of the car.
The correct answer is C) They decrease the amount of time for a collision to happen.
Airbags in automobiles are a good idea because they decrease the amount of time for a collision to happen. When a car collides with an object, such as another vehicle or a stationary obstacle, the occupants of the car experience a change in momentum due to the impulse imparted by the collision.
Impulse can be defined as the force applied over a certain amount of time, and momentum can be defined as the product of an object's mass and its velocity. In a collision, the change in momentum of the car and its occupants is equal to the impulse imparted by the collision.
By decreasing the amount of time for a collision to happen, airbags increase the duration over which the force is applied. This helps to reduce the peak force experienced by the occupants of the car, thereby reducing the risk of injury.
To arrive at this answer, you can apply the concepts of impulse and momentum. First, recall that airbags are designed to deploy rapidly during a collision. This rapid deployment increases the duration over which the force is applied, thereby increasing the time interval. According to the impulse-momentum principle, this increased time interval decreases the force experienced by the occupants of the car.
So, in terms of impulse and momentum, airbags are a good idea because they decrease the amount of time for a collision to happen, reducing the force exerted on the occupants and decreasing the risk of injury.