Explain the difference between elastic and inelastic collisions.

In all collisions, provided there are no external forces, momentum is conserved. This is the law of conservation of momentum. However, kinetic energy is not conserved in all collisions. An inelastic collision is one in which not all of the kinetic energy is conserved. An example could be a collision between two cars, whereby both had kinetic energy before colliding, and none afterwards as they came to rest. A perfectly elastic collision is one in which all kinetic energy is conserved. An example of this is interactions between molecules, or in a Newton's cradle.

EE
Answered by Ellie E. Physics tutor

6899 Views

See similar Physics Scottish Highers tutors

Related Physics Scottish Highers answers

All answers ▸

What is a boson, as described by the standard model?


Why does time slow down for someone standing at the bottom of a mountain compared to time for someone at the top of a mountain?


A photon of wavelength 656.3nm is emitted in the Balmer series of a Hydrogen emission lamp. (a). Show that the frequency of the photon is 4.57*10^14 Hz. (b).Use the Planck-Einstein relationship to calculate the energy of the photon.


An exoplanet, 0.01% the mass of the Sun, orbits a star 2 times the mass of the Sun at a distance of 1AU = 1.5x10^8 km. Using Newton's Law of Universal Gravitation, determine the force between the exoplanet and the star. Mass of Sun = 2x10^30kg.


We're here to help

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

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning