Akhtar, Kiran and Rahul were riding in a motorcar that was moving with a high velocity on an expressway when an insect hit the windshield and got stuck on the windscreen. Akhtar and Kiran started pondering over the situation. Kiran suggested that the insect suffered a greater change in momentum as compared to the change in momentum of the motorcar (because the change in the velocity of the insect was much more than that of the motorcar). Akhtar said that since the motorcar was moving with a larger velocity, it exerted a larger force on the insect. And as a result the insect died. Rahul while putting an entirely new explanation said that both the motorcar and the insect experienced the same force and a change in their momentum. Comment on these suggestions
Explanation GIVEN:Different suggestions given by Akhtar, Kiran and Rahul on given situation. TO FIND: Comment on the given suggestions. • Kiran’s suggestion is correct. The mass of the insect is extremely small in comparison to the mass of the car. As per the law of conservation of momentum, the entire momentum before the collision between the insect and therefore the car is adequate to the entire momentum after the collision. Therefore, the change within the momentum of the insect is far greater than the change in momentum of the car (since force is proportional to mass). Akhtar’s suggestion is additionally correct. Since the mass of the car is extremely high, the force exerted on the insect during the collision is additionally very high. Rahul’s suggestion is partially correct. According to the third law of motion, both insect and car experience the same force as action and reaction are always equal and opposite. However, Rahul’s suggestion that the change within the momentum is that the same contradicts the law of conservation of momentum.
