Two-dimensional collision –at higher secondary level

Abstract

The treatment of two-dimensional collision of bodies in textbooks at various levels was examined. It is found that while many books do not mention impact parameter at all, some books show it in a diagram, though they do not include it in the mathematical treatment that follows. In this article, the importance of impact parameter is highlighted and a simple treatment which does not go beyond the higher secondary level is developed. A simple experiment is suggested.