Inelastic Collision
Reference from the original Physics I textbook.
- Inelastic Collision
An inelastic collision does not conserve total kinetic energy. In a perfectly inelastic collision, the objects stick together; this produces the greatest kinetic-energy loss allowed by momentum conservation for the given initial state.
- Related Glossary Terms
- Index
Chapter 4 - Inelastic Collisions
Chapter 4 - Inelastic Collisions
Reviewed physics notes (1)
These corrections keep the original lesson’s purpose while fixing errors in the source edition.
- Original describes only perfectly inelastic collisions as all inelastic collisions. — Reference 1
Glossary and deeper reading · 2 refreshers
These editorial refreshers supplement the reading. Definitions and examples are added guidance; original source wording and recorded answers remain in their original context.
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Inelastic collision
An inelastic collision does not conserve the colliding system’s total kinetic energy. Momentum can still be conserved when the net external impulse is negligible, and total energy remains conserved when all stores are included. For example, carts that latch together undergo a completely inelastic collision and convert some initial kinetic energy into other forms.
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Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy is energy associated with motion relative to a chosen reference frame. For a nonrelativistic translating object it is one half of its mass times speed squared. For example, doubling a cart’s speed quadruples its translational kinetic energy when its mass stays fixed.