Question

When a light body collides with a massive body at rest ___________

(a) The light body rebounds after the collision

(b) The light body Remains at rest

(c) The massive body rebounds after the collision

(d) No reaction happens

This question was addressed to me during an interview.

The origin of the question is Work and Energy topic in section Nature of Physical World of Engineering Physics I

Answer 1

Right choice is (a) The light body rebounds after the collision

The explanation: When a light body collides against a massive body at rest, the light body rebounds after the collision with an equal and opposite velocity while the massive body practically remains at rest. A light ball striking a wall rebounds almost with the same speed and the wall remains at rest.