Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Front

What does the law of conservation of momentum state?

Back

The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of a closed system before a collision is equal to the total momentum after the collision.

Front

What is momentum?

Back

Momentum is the product of an object's mass and its velocity, represented as p = mv.

Front

What is the formula for calculating momentum?

Back

Momentum (p) = mass (m) × velocity (v).

Front

What is an elastic collision?

Back

An elastic collision is a collision in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.

Front

What is an inelastic collision?

Back

An inelastic collision is a collision in which momentum is conserved, but kinetic energy is not.

Front

How do you calculate the total momentum before a collision?

Back

Total momentum before a collision is calculated by adding the momentum of all objects involved.

Front

If two objects collide and stick together, what type of collision is it?

Back

It is an inelastic collision.

Front

What happens to the total momentum in a closed system during a collision?

Back

The total momentum remains constant.

Front

If a 2 kg ball moving at 3 m/s collides with a stationary 2 kg ball, what is the total momentum before the collision?

Back

Total momentum before the collision = (2 kg × 3 m/s) + (2 kg × 0 m/s) = 6 kg m/s.

Front

What is the velocity of two objects after a perfectly elastic collision if they have equal mass and one is stationary?

Back

They will exchange velocities.