It’s early fall and you are driving along a two-lane highway ina rented moving van. It’s full of all of your possessions so youand the loaded truck weigh 8000 lb. You have just slowed down to 15mph because you’re in a school zone. It’s a good thing you thoughtto do that because a group of first graders are just starting tocross the road. Just as you pass the children you see a 2000-lbsports car in the other lane heading straight for the children atabout 80 mph. A desperate thought crosses your mind. You just havetime to swing into the other lane and speed up a bit before makinga head-on collision with the sports car. You want your truck andthe sports car to crumple into a heap that sticks together anddoesn’t move. Can you save the children or is this just a suicidalact?
A. Prediction: How fast would you have to be going to completelystop the sports car? Explain the reasons for your prediction.(doesn't have to be an exact answer)
B. : What happens when the less massive car is moving muchfaster than the more massive car? Much slower? At an intermediatespeed?
C. Based on your prediction and your observations, whatmathematical definition might you use to describe the momentum youwould need to stop an oncoming vehicle traveling with a known massand velocity? Should it depend on the mass, the velocity, or both?Explain your choice.
