Question

What is an inelastic collision? What is a perfectly inelastic collision?

a) Inelastic collision has no momentum loss; perfectly inelastic has complete momentum loss.
b) Inelastic collision has partial momentum loss; perfectly inelastic has no momentum loss.
c) Inelastic collision has complete momentum loss; perfectly inelastic has partial momentum loss.
d) Inelastic collision has no momentum loss; perfectly inelastic has partial momentum loss.

Answer 1

An inelastic collision is one where internal kinetic energy is not conserved, while a perfectly inelastic collision involves the colliding objects sticking together and conserving momentum.

Step-by-step explanation:

An inelastic collision is one in which the internal kinetic energy changes and is not conserved. On the other hand, a perfectly inelastic collision is an extreme type of inelastic collision where the colliding objects stick together after the impact, thereby reducing internal kinetic energy to the minimum possible while still conserving momentum.

Addressing the student's options, the correct answer is that an inelastic collision has momentum conserved, not lost, but kinetic energy is not conserved. Similarly, a perfectly inelastic collision is characterized by objects sticking together, which means it has partial loss of internal kinetic energy but still conserves momentum, disqualifying both complete momentum loss options presented in the question (a and c).