Which of the following statements about elastic collisions is true?

Which of the following statements about elastic collisions is true?

• A. Only momentum is conserved
• B. Both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved
• C. They do not occur in real life
• D. Kinetic energy is converted to potential energy

Answer: (B)

In elastic collisions, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. This means that the total momentum of the system before the collision equals the total momentum after the collision, and similarly, the total kinetic energy remains constant throughout the event. This characteristic of elastic collisions distinguishes them from inelastic collisions, where momentum is still conserved, but some kinetic energy is converted into other forms of energy, such as thermal energy or deformation. The definition of an elastic collision is rooted in ideal conditions where no energy is lost to the environment or transformed into other energy types during the collision process. While perfect elastic collisions are mostly theoretical, many collisions, particularly at small scales (such as gas molecules), exhibit behaviors close to elastic collisions. Understanding this concept is fundamental in physics as it applies to various real-world scenarios, such as billiard balls colliding on a table or gas particles colliding in an ideal gas.

In elastic collisions, both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. This means that the total momentum of the system before the collision equals the total momentum after the collision, and similarly, the total kinetic energy remains constant throughout the event. This characteristic of elastic collisions distinguishes them from inelastic collisions, where momentum is still conserved, but some kinetic energy is converted into other forms of energy, such as thermal energy or deformation.

The definition of an elastic collision is rooted in ideal conditions where no energy is lost to the environment or transformed into other energy types during the collision process. While perfect elastic collisions are mostly theoretical, many collisions, particularly at small scales (such as gas molecules), exhibit behaviors close to elastic collisions.

Understanding this concept is fundamental in physics as it applies to various real-world scenarios, such as billiard balls colliding on a table or gas particles colliding in an ideal gas.