Momentum is conserved in collisions provided that A no crumpling of objects occurs B no energy is lost as heat or sound C no external forces act D no friction is involved (b) A student uses a horizontal air track to investigate collisions. The air track blows air through a series of small holes. Two small gliders, M_1 and M_2, float on a cushion of air. The student pushes the first glider M_1 towards glider M_2, which is stationary. As the glider M_2 goes through the light gate, its velocity is measured. Glider M_1 hits and sticks to glider M_2, and they move off together. The student takes the following measurements. mass of glider M_1 = 0.21 kg mass of glider M_2 = 0.21 kg velocity measured by the light gate = 0.47 m/s

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Momentum is conserved in collisions provided that A no crumpling of objects occurs B no energy is lost as heat or sound C no external forces act D no friction is involved (b) A student uses a horizontal air track to investigate collisions - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1

Question 1

Momentum is conserved in collisions provided that A no crumpling of objects occurs B no energy is lost as heat or sound C no external forces act D no friction is in... show full transcript

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Momentum is conserved in collisions provided that A no crumpling of objects occurs B no energy is lost as heat or sound C no external forces act D no friction is involved (b) A student uses a horizontal air track to investigate collisions - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1

Step 1

Complete the sentence by putting a cross (X) in the box next to your answer.

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Answer

The correct choice is C: no external forces act.

Step 2

Determine the final velocities of the gliders after the collision.

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Answer

Since the gliders stick together after the collision, we can use conservation of momentum to find the final velocity, $v_f$ :

Initial momentum = Final momentum

$m_1 v_1 + m_2 v_2 = (m_1 + m_2)v_f$

Where:

$m_1 = 0.21 \, kg$ (mass of glider 1)
$m_2 = 0.21 \, kg$ (mass of glider 2)
$v_1 = 0.47 \, m/s$ (velocity of glider 1)
$v_2 = 0 \, m/s$ (glider 2 is stationary)

Plugging in the values:
$(0.21)(0.47) + (0.21)(0) = (0.21 + 0.21)v_f$
$0.0987 = 0.42v_f$
$v_f = \frac{0.0987}{0.42} \approx 0.2357 \, m/s$

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Momentum is conserved in collisions provided that A no crumpling of objects occurs B no energy is lost as heat or sound C no external forces act D no friction is involved (b) A student uses a horizontal air track to investigate collisions - Edexcel - GCSE Physics - Question 1 - 2016 - Paper 1

Complete the sentence by putting a cross (X) in the box next to your answer.

Determine the final velocities of the gliders after the collision.

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