Two colliding objects exert equal and opposite forces on each other (Newton's Third Law). However, acceleration experienced by an object is inversely related to its mass: the smaller the mass, the larger the acceleration for a given force (pp. 49-50). Therefore the motorcycle will undergo a much greater change in its motion than the truck.
If a Mack truck and a motorcycle have a head-on collision, upon which vehicle is the impact force greater? Which vehicle undergoes the greater change in its motion? Defend your answers.
Newton's Third Law states that when two objects interact, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other. This means that if object A exerts a force on object B, then object B exerts an equal force in the opposite direction on object A.
In the case of the colliding motorcycle and truck, when they collide, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other. The truck exerts a force on the motorcycle, and at the same time, the motorcycle exerts an equal force on the truck in the opposite direction.
Now, let's talk about the relationship between acceleration and mass. According to Newton's Second Law, the acceleration of an object is directly proportional to the force applied on it and inversely proportional to its mass. Mathematically, we can express this relationship as:
a = F/m
Where:
a = acceleration
F = force
m = mass
According to this equation, if the force applied on an object is kept constant, the acceleration of the object will be inversely proportional to its mass. So, the smaller the mass of an object, the larger its acceleration for a given force.
In the case of the motorcycle and truck colliding, since they exert equal and opposite forces on each other, the force experienced by both the motorcycle and the truck is the same. However, the mass of the motorcycle is much smaller than the mass of the truck. Therefore, according to Newton's Second Law, the motorcycle will undergo a much greater change in its motion compared to the truck. The motorcycle will experience a larger acceleration due to its smaller mass for the same amount of force applied during the collision.
This means that the motorcycle will be affected more by the collision and undergo a greater change in its motion than the truck. Its velocity and direction of movement will change more rapidly compared to the truck.