A 2.50 × 10^4 kg truck crashes into a wall at 2.0 m/s, and comes to a stop in 0.50 seconds.

Question

What is the average force on the truck?

Answer 1

By definition the average force F is given by F=mΔv/Δt where Δv and Δt are the variation in velocity and time, respectively during the crash.

In this case, Δv and Δt are given by 2 m/s and 0.5 s, therefore the average force is given by

F=25000*2/50=1000 N

Best,

Davide

Answer 2

Given data:

1. m_truck = 2.50*10⁴ kg,
2. v₀ = 2.0 m/s,
3. Δt = 0.50 s,
4. v_f = 0.0 m/s (comes to a stop)

This truck has momentum p = mv, to change ones momentum a force needs to be applied (second law of Newton).

F = Δp/Δt = mΔv/Δt

Insert the data in the equation above and you get the average force on the truck in Newton (N).