Two balls collide with each other. Ball 1 experiences a high acceleration as a result of the collision, while Ball 2 experiences a small acceleration. What can you conclude about Ball 2?

We conclude that ball 2 has a larger mass.

Explanation:

This is because the internal forces at collision are an action reaction pair. The force on ball 1 due to ball 2 equals the force on ball 2 due to ball 1. Since these forces are equal in magnitude, let's denote it by F. So

For each ball, F = ma and a = F/m. Since F is the same for both balls, if follows that the acceleration of each ball is inversely proportional to its mass. That is, a ∝ 1/m.

Since ball 1 has a higher acceleration, it has a lower mass. Also ball 2 has a small acceleration, so it has a higher mass.

an obstruction