Question

debbie is an engineer who designs safety features to protect drivers in rear - end collisions. she has developed a new system that allows the front end of an automobile to bend or crumple during any head - on collision, thereby reducing the rate of deceleration experienced by the driver. the safety system is known as a front - end crumple zone. suppose a rear - end automobile collision occurs between the two cars illustrated below. the orange car was waiting at a light with its brakes locked when the blue car collided with it from behind. the blue car had debbie’s front - end crumple zone system installed, which helped reduce part of the force of the collision. what is an additional safety feature that could have helped to reduce the force felt by the drivers of both cars even more? a. a rear - end crumple zone installed in the orange car b. a locking brake system installed in the orange car, preventing its wheels from moving c. a rear - end crumple zone installed in the blue car d. a front - end crumple zone installed in the orange car

Explanation:

Crumple zones work by increasing the collision time, which reduces the force of impact (per the impulse-momentum theorem $F\Delta t = \Delta p$). In this rear-end collision, the orange car is hit from behind, so a rear-end crumple zone on the orange car would crumple during the impact, extending the collision time and lowering the force felt by both drivers. Option B would not reduce impact force, options C and D target the wrong end of the car for this collision type.

Answer:

A. a rear-end crumple zone installed in the orange car