How would I go about writing a 1-2 page paper about this scenario...? You are a

Question

How would I go about writing a 1-2 page paper about this scenario...?

You are a professional witness in a lawsuit. What do you tell
the judge? What do you tell the Physicist (Read the following scenario.)

You are on an RTD Stretch Bus (the long busses with the accordion in
the middle. (This is called an articulating bus.)) The bus is fully
loaded with fuel and people. You are traveling at 30 [mph] when a
mini-Van in front of the bus pulls in front of the bus as it travels in
a similar direction; the van is traveling 20 [mph]. The bus driver slams
on the brakes, but there is black ice so the bus gracefully slides
right into the van sending the van flying ahead. Three passengers,
upon realizing their opportunity to make some quick cash, start crying
of back and neck pain.

Mass of bus + passengers + fuel is about 66,600 [lb] or 30,200 [kg].
Mass of van is about 2,000 [kg].

Please Note: A few students have contacted me and said
that I made an error converting from pounds to kilograms.
Here are my conversion notes:
66600*4.4492454 /9.8 = 30236.709
#[lb] * 4.4492454[N] / 1 [lb] / 9.8[m/s/s]---> kg

66600*0.454 = 30236.400
#[lb] * 0.454...[kg] / 1 [lb] ---> kg

See Wolfram Alpha for more information.
1 pound is about 4.45 Newton.

Forensics estimates from the bending of the light-pole that the van was
moving at an uninhibited speed of about 35 [mph] when it hit the pole
after sliding on ice.

You are a professional witness; what is your statement to the judge
and why? (Three other passengers tell the judge they didn't even feel
the collision. They heard it and saw the van fly forward; but they
claim they felt nothing.)

You are a professional witness; what is your statement to the Physicist
and why?

Your paper needs to address both the Judge (jury) and the Physicist.
Treat each separately.

1) The Judge needs terms that are easy to understand.
You need to include some "real world" examples to drive home your answer.
The Judge needs to see concepts of momentum exchange and a final answer for change in
speed for the bus in mph.

2) The Physicist needs to see calculations for momentum exchange
and a final answer for change in velocity for the bus in m/s.

Explanation / Answer

faulty assumption. the bus CANNOT ricochet the van without sliding further. the van would collapse (you're talking about a REAL WORLD not ideal rigid bodies, right?), transferring part of the kinetic energy of bus and its own into heat. there is no single information about the actions of the BUS itself following the collision.

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