BRAINCAKEAir Bags
Air bags are fitted in cars to reduce the injury by collision with the steering wheel, dashboard or windscreen.
During a collision the rapid deceleration means a rapid loss of momentum.
According to Newtons' second law the rate of change of momentum is proportional to the resultant force, so a rapid change in momentum requires a large impact force.
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Key terms in this lesson
- resultant
- The single force or vector that has the same effect as two or more forces or vectors acting together.
- velocity
- The rate of change of displacement of an object; speed in a given direction.
- acceleration
- The rate of change of velocity of an object.
- linear momentum
- The product of an object's mass and its velocity.
More in Momentum
- Linear Momentum
- Conservation of Momentum
- Explosions vs Collisions
- Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
- Conservation of Momentum as a Consequence of Newton's Laws
- Impulse and Force-time Graphs
- Adding Momentum
- Resolving Momentum
All 14 lessons in Momentum · All OCR AS-level Physics topics