Compare and contrast elastic and inelastic collisions

An elastic collision is a collision where there is no loss of kinetic energy. Therefore, it can be said that, since KE is conserved, momentum is conserved. In other words the momentum and total kinetic energy before and after the collision are the same. An example of an elastic collision is the movement of swinging balls. Whereas, in an inelastic collision some kinetic energy is changed to another form of energy such as heat or sound. Therefore in an inelastic collision, energy is not conserved. An example of this of an inelastic collision is a car crash.

MR
Answered by Matt R. Physics tutor

13723 Views

See similar Physics A Level tutors

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

How many fission event occur per second if a Uranium 235 Nuclear Reactor outputs 210MW of energy? Average Binding Energy per Nucleon of Uranium 235- 7.6 MeV Average Binding Energy per Nucleon of Products-8.5 MeV


Why is the refractive index of water bigger than that of air?


How is a particle moving in circular motion accelerating but not varying speed?


Initially, trucks A and B are travelling in opposite directions. A has mass 1000 kg and is travelling at speed 7ms^-1. B has mass 4000kg and is travelling at speed 2ms^-1. What is their speed and direction after collision if they move together?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences