In collisions, momentum is always conserved. So the velocity and mass of the components in a system can vary but the total momentum from before a collision equals the final sum of momentum. How do we know this? Well first off, lets define momentum in terms of physics. Momentum, often represented by the letter p, is mass times velocity (p=mv). We can use this equation to solve for any missing variable. Once the momentum is known, we can apply it to another equation. Average force equals change in momentum divided by change in time. So if my elephant (large mass) and zebra (small mass) run head on into each other at the same speed, we can use the first equation to figure out the momentum of my elephant is greater than the momentum of the zebra. Then I can see which has more force using the second equation. My calculations would show that the force of the elephant is greater on the zebra than the zebra has on the elephant. All in all, the zebra would get more injured.
cute example! i thought you were gonna lose me but you kept it very simple and understandable...i <3 zebras
ReplyDeletei <3 elephants, haha yeah i lost myself a couple of times, it suddenly becomes a lot harder when you have to explain something yourself :p
ReplyDeleteOMG CUTE
ReplyDeleteI like the elephant and zebra thing going on here Cx
Very good example and use of the new terms we learned. C:
haha thank you!
ReplyDelete