Two balls are thrown against a wall with the same velocity. The first ball is made of rubber and bounces straight back with some
non-zero speed. The second ball is made of clay and sticks to the wall after impact. If we assume the collision time was the same for each ball, which ball experienced a greater average acceleration during the collision with the wall? A. the average acceleration was the sameB. the clay ball C. there is not enough information D. the rubber ball
Acceleration is calculated by finding the difference of the initial velocity from the final velocity (on impact, usually 0) and then dividing by the amount of time that took place. If we assume that both balls were thrown at the same initial force, and ended up hitting the wall at the same time then we can say that the average acceleration was the same. If the initial velocity was not the same then we would need the initial velocity of each ball in order to calculate the acceleration of each object and determine which had a greater acceleration.
