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What happens whenever an object strikes a stationary object of equal mass?

Asked by Toyin faks, Last updated: Apr 14, 2024

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4 Answers

A. Samuel

A. Samuel

Writing quality content for contentment has been my passion since i was 21. I've been pursuing it as a Content Manager and Producer.

A. Samuel
A. Samuel, Content Manager, Masters in Marketing and accounting, Florida

Answered Jan 20, 2021

When it comes to two objects of the same mass colliding with each other, many people have theories about what will occur. These theories are especially so when the mass is the same. However, many of these theories are incorrect.

Even when two objects of the same mass collide, there are certain things that will not occur. One of those is that the objects will not stick together. Another thing that is not required is that the first object must stop or will stop. This is not true because this is one of the reasons they collide. Another theory that is not true is that the collision would be elastic.

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Isabel Mathew

Isabel Mathew

Coding is my forte plus writing and sharing my experiences online is one of my favorite hobbies.

Isabel Mathew
Isabel Mathew, Software engineer, BS(Bachelor of Science), Austin,Texas

Answered Jan 19, 2021

When a moving object strikes a stationary object of identical mass, the static object confronts the greater collision force. When a moving object collides with a fixed object of comparable mass, the stationary object encounters a greater momentum change.

Momentum is computed as the product of mass and velocity. As the speed of an object increases, so does its velocity. As a result, an elevated speed leads to a growing momentum, which is a direct relationship. For the same speed, a more massive object has the greater product of mass and velocity. It, therefore, has more momentum. The momentum of an object is modified as its momentum is shifted between colliding objects.

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R. Barnes

R. Barnes

Always excited to learn and talk about new topics

R. Barnes
R. Barnes, Analyst, PhD, Clinton

Answered Jan 14, 2021

One thing that you should know is that total momentum is something that can be used between two different objects that have collided with each other. When one moving object will slam against another stationary object and the mass of the two are the same, then the stationary object will be able to take more force as compared to the moving object.

This explains why in cars sometimes, the object that is not moving will be more totaled as compared to the object that has been moving towards the vehicle. This does not only apply to vehicles but to all of the other objects that may be moving or stationary.

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W. Kaye

W. Kaye

Here to answer and learn

W. Kaye
W. Kaye, Ex-Marine, Post Graduate, Chapel Hill

Answered Jan 12, 2021

Whenever an object strikes a stationary object of equal mass, what happens is that there will be equal and opposite changes to the momentum of the two objects. That said, it will be wrong to think only the stationary object will experience a higher momentum change.

According to the law of momentum conservation, it states that; the total momentum of two bodies before collision will remain the same after the collision, provided the collision occurs in a closed system. However, this does not mean that the momentum of each colliding object will not change.

The law states that even if the momentum of each colliding object changes, the total momentum of the two objects will remain the same. This happens because, in any collision, each colliding object will exert equal and opposite forces on each other. This rule still stands regardless of the nature of the collision.

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