Flashcard: "Crash!" Forces in Collisions

Front

What is the relationship between mass and the effect of a force in a collision?

Back

The greater the mass of an object, the smaller the effect of a given force on its motion.

Front

What happens when two bumper cars with people of different masses collide?

Back

The person with less mass moves further.

Front

In a pool game, what happens when a moving cue ball hits a stationary ball of the same mass?

Back

The cue ball stops, and the stationary ball moves.

Front

True or False: A smaller person in a bumper car will experience less movement than a larger person when they collide.

Back

False

Front

True or False: When a car hits a bug, the car experiences more force than the bug.

Back

False

Front

What is inertia?

Back

Inertia is the tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion.

Front

Define momentum.

Back

Momentum is the product of an object's mass and its velocity.

Front

What is the principle of conservation of momentum?

Back

In a closed system, the total momentum before a collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision.

Front

Explain the concept of force in the context of collisions.

Back

Force is an interaction that causes an object to change its velocity, which can result in a change in motion during a collision.

Front

What is the effect of a larger mass in a collision?

Back

A larger mass will generally experience less acceleration than a smaller mass when the same force is applied.