Question

What is an elastic collision?

Answer 1

Answer:

A collision in which both total momentum and total kinetic energy are conserved

Explanation:

In classical physics, we have two types of collisions:

- Elastic collision: elastic collision is a collision in which both the total momentum of the objects involved and the total kinetic energy of the objects involved are conserved

- Inelastic collision: in an inelastic collision, the total momentum of the objects involved is conserved, while the total kinetic energy is not. In this type of collisions, part of the total kinetic energy is converted into heat or other forms of energy due to the presence of frictional forces. When the objects stick together after the collision, the collisions is called 'perfectly inelastic collision'