Past exam of the physics 1 paper of the University of Oxford / 2019 resit / 8 / i / Solution

For equal masses and an elastic collision, $q=1$ andThus the nonzero outgoing branch isand the other nonnegative algebraic root is $v_1=0$. The latter is the head-on transfer of the incoming momentum and kinetic energy to particle 2: $v_2=u_1$. A stationary particle has no defined outgoing direction, so this root is not a separate physical outcome for every chosen ${\theta }_1$.

On the nonzero branch, momentum conservation givesThe two nonzero outgoing velocities are perpendicular: squaring momentum conservation and comparing with kinetic energy conservation gives ${\mathbf{v}}_1^{\prime }\cdot {\mathbf{v}}_2^{\prime }=0$. For $\cos {\theta }_1<0$, the nonzero root is negative and must be rejected; backward scattering of a moving incident particle is impossible in this equal-mass, initially stationary-target case.