Elastic and inelastic collisions
0/3
Intros
Lessons
0/5
Examples
Lessons
- Solving word problems with momentum and elastic/inelastic collisions
- Two cars collide head-on and stick together. The cars are stationary after colliding.
- Is total momentum conserved?
- Is total energy conserved?
- Is the collision elastic or inelastic?
- Identify each situation as an inelastic or elastic collision.
- One car crashes into another, bouncing apart with a loud bang.
- A hammer strikes a piece of steel, bouncing off and producing sparks.
- A He atom collides with a H atom, bouncing off and maintaining overall kinetic energy.
- Two cars collide head-on and stick together. The cars are stationary after colliding.
- ∑Ei=∑Ef ; ∑pi=∑pf: Conservation of energy and momentum in elastic and inelastic collisions
- 3.6×104 kg train car A travelling at 5.40 m/s [E] collides with stationary 5.20×104 kg train car B. The train cars bounce apart, and after the collision, train car A travels at 1.70 m/s [E]. Determine if this collision is elastic or inelastic.
- 0.50 kg steel ball A travelling [E] with a kinetic energy of 0.49 J collides with stationary 0.75 kg steel ball B head-on. After the collision, ball A travels at 0.28 m/s [W]. Assuming the collision is elastic, find the velocity of ball B after the collision.
- A "ballistic pendulum" is a method used to measure the velocity of a bullet. A 5.60 g bullet is fired at a 1.24 kg wooden block suspended as shown in the diagram, and the block rises to 0.250 m higher than its initial position at the peak of its swing.
- Find the velocity of the bullet when it hits the block.
- Calculate how much of the kinetic energy is lost in this inelastic collision. Explain what happens to this energy.
Free to Join!
StudyPug is a learning help platform covering math and science from grade 4 all the way to second year university. Our video tutorials, unlimited practice problems, and step-by-step explanations provide you or your child with all the help you need to master concepts. On top of that, it's fun — with achievements, customizable avatars, and awards to keep you motivated.
Easily See Your Progress
We track the progress you've made on a topic so you know what you've done. From the course view you can easily see what topics have what and the progress you've made on them. Fill the rings to completely master that section or mouse over the icon to see more details.Make Use of Our Learning Aids
Earn Achievements as You Learn
Make the most of your time as you use StudyPug to help you achieve your goals. Earn fun little badges the more you watch, practice, and use our service.Create and Customize Your Avatar
Play with our fun little avatar builder to create and customize your own avatar on StudyPug. Choose your face, eye colour, hair colour and style, and background. Unlock more options the more you use StudyPug.
Topic Notes
In this lesson, we will learn:
- Meaning of elastic and inelastic collisions
- What happens to kinetic energy in a collision?
- Understanding perfectly inelastic collisions
- Problem solving with elastic and inelastic collisions
Notes:
- Total momentum and total energy are conserved in collisions. However, kinetic energy is not always conserved, since it can be converted into other forms of energy.
- Elastic collision: collision where no kinetic energy is lost
- Inelastic collision: collision where part of the kinetic energy is converted to other forms of energy
- Perfectly inelastic collision: collision where the maximum possible amount of kinetic energy is converted to other forms of energy; objects stick together.
Conservation of Momentum
∑pi=∑pf
pi: initial momentum, in kilogram meters per second (kg·m/s)
pf: final momentum, in kilogram meters per second (kg·m/s)
Conservation of Energy
∑Ei=∑Ef
Ei: initial energy, in joules (J)
Ef: final energy, in joules (J)
Kinetic Energy
KE=21mv2
KE: kinetic energy, in joules (J)
m: mass, in kilograms (kg)
v: speed, in meters per second (m/s)
Potential Energy
PE=mgh
PE: potential energy, in joules (J)
g: acceleration due to gravity, in meters per second squared (m/s2)
h: height, in meters (m)
2
videos
remaining today
remaining today
5
practice questions
remaining today
remaining today