A large truck collides head-on with a cyclist. During the collision

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

In a head-on collision between a truck and a cyclist, Newton's third law applies: every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Now let's evaluate each statement one by one.
Option 1: 'the truck exerts a greater amount of force on the cyclist than the cyclist exerts on the truck.' This is incorrect because the interaction forces are constrained by Newton's third law to be equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, regardless of the masses or accelerations involved. The truck may experience a different acceleration due to its greater mass, but the force each body exerts on the other is the same.
Option 2: 'the truck exerts the same amount of force on the cyclist as the cyclist exerts on the truck.' This matches Newton's third law: the interaction force is pairwise and equal in magnitude. The forces are equal and opposite even though the outcomes (accelerations, resulting motion) differ because of differing masses.
Option 3: 'the truck exerts a smaller amount of force on the cyclist than the cyclist exerts on the truck.' This contradicts the fundamental action-reaction principle. The forces are not unequal in magnitude; instead, they are the same in strength but opposite in direction.
Option 4: 'the truck exerts a force on the cyclist, but the cyclist exerts no force on the truck.' This is incorrect because any contact force during the collision involves mutual interaction—the cyclist and the truck exert forces on each other. No object in contact can leave the other completely unacted upon by a force.
In summary, the correct understanding stems from Newton's third law: the forces in the collision are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction, which aligns with Option 2, while the other statements misrepresent the nature of action-reaction forces.

SPHY001 Practice Quiz - Unit 08 | LA048

A large truck collides head-on with a cyclist. During the collision

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