A truck weighing 6 tons and a passenger car weighing 1.5 tons collided.

A truck weighing 6 tons and a passenger car weighing 1.5 tons collided. The impact force experienced by a passenger car is 9 kN. What impact force did the truck experience? What accelerations did the cars get?

Task data: mg (truck weight) = 6 t (6000 kg); ml (mass of a car) = 1.5 t (1500 kg); Fl (impact force tested by a passenger car) = 9 kN (9000 N).

1) Impact force tested by a truck (we use Newton’s third law): Fg = Fl = 9 kN.

2) Acceleration acquired by cars (we use Newton’s second law):

a) a passenger car: al = Fl / ml = 9000/1500 = 6 m / s2;

b) truck: ar = Fg / mg = 9000/6000 = 1.5 m / s2.