Question

According to the conservation of momentum, if a small football player collides with a much larger football player, which of the following statements will be true? a The larger football player will move, but because of his larger mass, his velocity will be much slower than the smaller player b The smaller football player will be stopped completely, his mass being not enough to move the larger one c The larger football player will have to start moving towards the smaller one as it collides if there is to be any effect d The smaller football player will experience a larger force than the larger football player

Answer 1

a The larger football player will move, but because of his larger mass, his velocity will be much slower than the smaller player

Step-by-step explanation:

When the collision takes two equal and opposite forces are created at the point of collision . The force created on the bigger mass will force it to accelerate and the force on moving smaller mass will force it to slow down .

Because of bigger mass , acceleration on bigger mass will be less and hence its velocity will be less .

Hence option a is the right answer.