A car skidded off an icy road and became stuck in deep snow at the road shoulder.Another

Chapter 7, Problem 7.5

(choose chapter or problem)

A car skidded off an icy road and became stuck in deep snow at the road shoulder. Another car, of 1400-kg mass, attempted to jerk the stuck vehicle back onto the road using a 5-m steel tow cable of stiffness k = 5000 N/mm. The traction available to the rescue car prevented it from exerting any significant force on the cable. With the aid of a push from bystanders, the rescue car was able to back against the stuck car and then go forward and reach a speed of 4 km/h at the instant the cable became taut. If the cable is attached rigidly to the center of mass of each car, estimate the maximum impact force that can be developed in the cable, and the resulting cable elongation (see Figure P7.5).