alleryStart learning →Why do car makers design the front of a car to crumple rather than to bounce back in a head-on crash?
ACrumpling gives a larger impulse
BCrumpling removes all momentum
CCrumpling gives a smaller impulse
DCrumpling raises the total force
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Crumpling gives a smaller impulse
1. A car that bounces back reverses its velocity, so its momentum changes by a large amount.
2. A car that crumples and stays with the other car has a much smaller change in momentum.
3. A smaller change in momentum means a smaller impulse on the occupants.
4. Crumpling also stretches the collision over a longer time, which lowers the force still further.
5. Momentum is never simply removed, it is transferred, so that option is wrong.
_Source: Siyavula Physical Sciences Grade 12 (Everything Science, CC BY 4.0), Chapter 2: Momentum and impulse_
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