Physics A-Level
Elastic collision
What Elastic collision means in Physics A-Level, as defined for AQA.
Definition of Elastic collision
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Reference: AQA
A collision in which the velocity component perpendicular to the wall reverses, so the molecule's momentum change is −2mu and the wall gains +2mu.
Topics that use Elastic collision
- Molecular kinetic theory model (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
Related terms
- Brownian motion
- Collisions and resultant forces
- Conservation of momentum
- Empirical versus theoretical knowledge
- Gas laws from experiment
- Internal energy of an ideal gas
- Kinetic theory and observation
- Kinetic theory assumptions and derivation
Using Elastic collision in the exam
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