When is a collision inelastic

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To make the equation easier, let's call the first car "1" and the second car "2. Report an Error. Explanation : This is an example of an elastic collision. We can use the law of conservation of momentum to equate the initial and final terms.

Which of these would NOT be an example of an inelastic collision? Possible Answers: Two cars crash into each other, and stop with a loud bang.

Two hydrogen atoms fuse together to form a helium atom and gamma radiation. A match scrapes a matchbook and bursts into flame. A man is clapping his hands such that they move with equal, but opposite velocities.

Correct answer: Neutrons fuse with hydrogen atoms in a nuclear reactor core such that kinetic energy is conserved.

Explanation : The difference between an elastic and an inelastic collision is the loss or conservation of kinetic energy. Example Question 1 : Momentum. Explanation : Elastic collisions occur when two objects collide and kinetic energy isn't lost. Plug in initial and final velocities and mass:. Possible Answers: Only kinetic energy is conserved. Both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. Neither momentum nor kinetic energy is conserved. Correct answer: Only momentum is conserved.

Explanation : This is an inelastic collision as the two objects stick together and move together with the same velocity. Explanation : We will need to start at the end of the situation and work backward in order to determine the velocity of the bullet. The mass is the same throughout so it falls out of the equation.

They both move together after the collision Since the pendulum was not moving at the beginning We can now plug in these values and solve for the missing piece.

Copyright Notice. View Tutors. Henrien Certified Tutor. California State University-Dominguez H Keith Certified Tutor. Rosemary Certified Tutor. That energy was released by the spring.

What is an inelastic collision? What is a perfectly inelastic collision? Mixed-pair ice skaters performing in a show are standing motionless at arms length just before starting a routine. They reach out, clasp hands, and pull themselves together by only using their arms.

Assuming there is no friction between the blades of their skates and the ice, what is their velocity after their bodies meet? A small pickup truck that has a camper shell slowly coasts toward a red light with negligible friction. Two dogs in the back of the truck are moving and making various inelastic collisions with each other and the walls. What is the effect of the dogs on the motion of the center of mass of the system truck plus entire load?

What is their effect on the motion of the truck? The collision lasts 0. During an ice show, a Using mass and speed data from Figure and assuming that the football player catches the ball with his feet off the ground with both of them moving horizontally, calculate: a the final velocity if the ball and player are going in the same direction and b the loss of kinetic energy in this case. Might the loss of kinetic energy be related to how much it hurts to catch the pass?

Calculate its recoil velocity. This energy is less than the energy released by the gun powder—significant heat transfer occurs. Two piloted satellites approaching one another, at a relative speed of 0. The first has a mass of , and the second a mass of. Explain why the change in velocity is different in the two frames, whereas the change in kinetic energy is the same in both.

Because there are no external forces, the velocity of the center of mass of the two-satellite system is unchanged by the collision. The two velocities calculated above are the velocity of the center of mass in each of the two different individual reference frames. The loss in KE is the same in both reference frames because the KE lost to internal forces heat, friction, etc.

A 30,kg freight car is coasting at 0. Space probes may be separated from their launchers by exploding bolts. They bolt away from one another. Suppose a kg satellite uses this method to separate from the kg remains of its launcher, and that J of kinetic energy is supplied to the two parts.

What are their subsequent velocities using the frame of reference in which they were at rest before separation? The pain is related to the amount of kinetic energy, which is significantly less in this latter situation. Discuss its relationship to this problem. One of the waste products of a nuclear reactor is plutonium This nucleus is radioactive and decays by splitting into a helium-4 nucleus and a uranium nucleus , the latter of which is also radioactive and will itself decay some time later.

The energy emitted in the plutonium decay is and is entirely converted to kinetic energy of the helium and uranium nuclei. The mass of the helium nucleus is , while that of the uranium is note that the ratio of the masses is 4 to Note that the data given here are accurate to three digits only. Suppose a fairly large asteroid that has a mass of about a kilometer across strikes the Moon at a speed of Such an event may have been observed by medieval English monks who reported observing a red glow and subsequent haze about the Moon.

Significant amounts of water were detected. Answer part a and b for this real-life experiment. How does the plume produced alter these results? The plume will not affect the momentum result because the plume is still part of the Moon system. The plume may affect the kinetic energy result because a significant part of the initial kinetic energy may be transferred to the kinetic energy of the plume particles.

Two football players collide head-on in midair while trying to catch a thrown football. To illustrate this, we now consider a one-dimensional problem in which two colliding bodies with known masses m sub 1 and m sub 2 , and with known initial velocities u subscript 1 x end and u subscript 2 x end collide and then separate with final velocities v subscript 1 x end and v subscript 2 x end.

The problem is that of finding the two unknowns v subscript 1 x end and v subscript 2 x end. Conservation of momentum in the x -direction provides only one equation linking these two unknowns:.

In the absence of any detailed knowledge about the forces involved in the collision, the usual source of an additional relationship between v subscript 1 x end and v subscript 2 x end comes from some consideration of the translational kinetic energy involved. The precise form of this additional relationship depends on the nature of the collision. Collisions may be classified by comparing the total translational kinetic energy of the colliding bodies before and after the collision. If there is no change in the total kinetic energy, then the collision is an elastic collision.

If the kinetic energy after the collision is less than that before the collision then the collision is an inelastic collision. In some situations e. In the simplest case, when the collision is elastic, the consequent conservation of kinetic energy means that. This equation, together with Equation 1 will allow v subscript 1 x end and v subscript 2 x end to be determined provided the masses and initial velocities have been specified.

We consider this situation in more detail in the next section. Real collisions between macroscopic objects are usually inelastic but some collisions, such as those between steel ball bearings or between billiard balls, are very nearly elastic. The kinetic energy which is lost in an inelastic collision appears as energy of a different form e. Collisions in which the bodies stick together on collision and move off together afterwards, are examples of completely inelastic collisions.

In these cases the maximum amount of kinetic energy, consistent with momentum conservation, is lost. Momentum conservation usually implies that the final body or bodies must be moving and this inevitably implies that there must be some final kinetic energy; it is the remainder of the initial kinetic energy, after this final kinetic energy has been subtracted, that is lost in a completely inelastic collision.

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