Question

Why is glass more likely to break if you drop it on a cement floor than if you drop it on a carpet?

Answer 1

The glass decelerates faster on the cement than on the carpet creating more force.

Explanation:

`F = MA`

The Mass (`M`) of the glass will be constant.

The Negative Acceleration (deceleration) is much greater on a cement floor. The cement floor stops the glass immediately.

The Negative Acceleration (deceleration) is much less on a carpet, The carpet slows the deceleration of the glass as it is not a rigid surface, unlike cement.

`A (cement) > A (carpet)`

`F = A` (when the mass is constant as it is in this example)

`F (cement) > F (carpet)`

Because the force on the glass hitting the cement floor is greater, the glass is much more likely to break.

Also,

Force in its true form is

`F=(dP)/dt`

where `P` is the momentum and `t` is time taken.

In both cases, the change is momentum is the same, However in the case of the carpet the time taken for that momentum change is more than in the case of the cement. On cement, momentum changes very rapidly.

So the Force getting applied on the glass is more in the case of the cement