Question

Why is it that the lower mass individual may appear to experience more force from the larger mass player in a collision?

Answer 1

One possible reason is that change in velocity is greater for the individual with lower mass.

Step-by-step explanation:

By Newton's Law of Mechanics, magnitude of the force on two players would be the same in the collision. Let
`F` denote this magnitude.

Assume that the duration of the collision is
`\Delta t`. In this collision, magnitude of the impulse
`J` on each player would be the same:
`J = F\, \Delta t`.

At the same time, impulse is equal to the change in momentum. Specifically, if the mass of one player is
`m` and the change in their velocity is
`\Delta v`, the change in their momentum would be
`m\, \Delta v`. Thus:

`m\, \Delta v = J = F\, \Delta t`.

Rearrange to obtain an expression for the change in velocity:

`\begin{aligned}\Delta v &= (J)/(m) = (F\, \Delta t)/(m)\end{aligned}`.

In other words, in this collision, change in velocity is inversely proportional to the mass of the participant. Hence, even though the two players experienced force of the same magnitude, the participant with a lower mass would experience a greater change in velocity.