Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-1-paper-of-the-university-of-oxford/2019-resit/8/iii/solution
Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford 2019 resit 8 iii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
A totally inelastic collision in the sticking sense has zero final relative velocity, so . Both velocities are the conserved centre-of-momentum frame velocity:Thus the bodies move together along the original incident direction; the moving projectile has . The common outgoing state is stationary in the centre-of-momentum frame. The lost translational kinetic energy iswhich can become internal energy. As explained in part 8, setting only the normal coefficient of restitution to zero in a smooth oblique collision does not force sticking: tangential relative motion can remain.
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