When a car is hit from behind, its passengers undergo sudden forward acceleratio

Question

When a car is hit from behind, its passengers undergo sudden forward acceleration, which can cause a severe neck injury known as whiplash. During normal acceleration, the neck muscles play a large role in accelerating the head so that the bones are not injured. But during a very sudden acceleration, the muscles do not react immediately because are flexible, so most of the accelerating force is provided by the neck bones. Experimental tests have shown that these bones will fracture if they absorb more than 8.0 J of energy. (a)If a car waiting at a stoplight is rear-ended in a collision that lasts for 10ms, what is the greatest speed this car and its driver can reach without breaking neck bones if the driver's head has a mass of 5.0 kg (which is about right for a 70 kg person)? Express your answer in m/s and in mph. (b) What is the acceleration of the passengers during the collision in part (a), and how large a force is acting to accelerate their heads? Express the acceleration in m/s^2 and in g's.

Explanation / Answer

impulse force = mv/t

mV=2E/m

     = 1.79 m/s

 

     = 6444 m/h

 

     a = V/t

        = 179 m/s^2

 

force = ma

         895 N

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