Question: In icy weather, cars A (mass 1000kg) and B (mass 2000kg) collide head-on while traveling in opposite directions in the same lane of a highway.
a. A and B each had speed 15m s-1 just before the collision, and A was heading due east. Sketch vectors (arrows) representing the momenta of the cars before the collision, and calculate their total momentum.
b. The cars stick together immediately after the collision. What is their speed immediately after the collision, and in what direction are they moving?
c. The average force on a body is defined as the change in momentum divided by the time it takes for that change to occur. If the duration of the impact is 0.125s, find the average force exerted on car A by car B.