AQA GCSE Physics · 8463
Specification 4.5.7.3 · Paper 2
Revise: Changes in momentumSeat belts restrain an occupant and can stretch during a collision, increasing the occupant's stopping time.
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GCSE Physics · key term
The time during which a stopping force acts to bring an object to rest.
Used by AQA and Edexcel
Specification 4.5.7.3 · Paper 2
Revise: Changes in momentumSeat belts restrain an occupant and can stretch during a collision, increasing the occupant's stopping time.
Specification 2.31 · Paper 1
The duration over which an object's velocity changes from its initial value to its final value.
For the same initial velocity, reducing the stopping time makes the magnitude of the deceleration much larger. Controlled braking spreads the change in velocity over a comparatively long time; a collision with a rigid obstacle may produce almost the same change in velocity in a tiny fraction of a second.
A complete safety explanation links the same change in momentum to a longer stopping time and therefore a smaller mean force. Do not simply say that padding “absorbs the force”.
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