Question

After calculating the kinetic energy for the carts in the lab, a student records that he had a total of 10 J of kinetic energy before the collision and only 4.8 J of kinetic energy after the collision. By looking at this data, what type of collision (elastic or inelastic) was this? How do you know?

a. Elastic; kinetic energy is conserved.
b. Inelastic; kinetic energy is lost.
c. Elastic; kinetic energy is not conserved.
d. Inelastic; kinetic energy is unchanged.

Answer 1

The collision is inelastic since there was a loss of kinetic energy, which characterizes inelastic collisions whereby kinetic energy is not conserved.

Step-by-step explanation:

The type of collision described where there is a decrease in total kinetic energy from 10 J before the collision to 4.8 J after the collision indicates that the collision is inelastic. This is because, in an inelastic collision, kinetic energy is not conserved, meaning some of the initial kinetic energy is transformed into other forms of energy such as heat or potential energy. By contrast, in an elastic collision, kinetic energy would be conserved, and the total kinetic energy before and after the collision would be the same. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is b. Inelastic; kinetic energy is lost.