Question

4/11
when the two balls hit each other, what happened?
the momentum of the first ball stayed the same
all the momentum was transferred to the second ball
the total amount of momentum changed
both the balls stopped

Explanation:

This relates to the law of conservation of momentum, which states that the total momentum in a closed system remains constant. When two balls collide (assuming an elastic collision like in Newton's cradle, the common context for this question), the total momentum of the system doesn't change. The first ball's momentum is fully transferred to the second, causing the first to stop and the second to move with the initial momentum of the first. The other options are incorrect: the first ball's momentum changes, total momentum stays the same, and the balls do not both stop.

Answer:

B. All the momentum was transferred to the second ball