Module 9: Elastic and inelastic Collision

A collision is an isolated event in which two or more bodies (the colliding bodies) exert relatively strong forces
on each other for a relatively short period

Before

of time.

During

After

Figure 1: A flowchart showing the system in which a collision occurs.

In all collisions, momentum is conserved. Energy, as the sum of all its forms, is also conserved every time.
These two principlesconservation of momentum and conservation of energyhold true at all levels: at the
grand scale of stars and galaxies, in everyday situations such as collisions between balls on a billiard table,
through to the atomic interactions between the particles that make up matter. Although total energy is
conserved in a collision, it is unusual for any one form of energy to be conserved.
Collisions can be
(i)
(ii)

elastic, or
totally inelastic.

(i) Elastic Collision:

An elastic collision is one in which both the kinetic energy and momentum of the system are conserved.
Energy changes during collisions:
In an elastic collision, the total kinetic energy of the system before the collision is equal to the total kinetic
energy of the system after the collision. However, the kinetic energy of the system is not necessarily constant
at all times throughout the collision. Consider an almost elastic collision between two air track gliders, A and B,
fitted with spring bumpers as shown in Fig.2. Before the collision, glider A carries the total kinetic energy of the
system. When the gliders are in contact, glider A slows down and glider B begins to move. The total kinetic
energy of the gliders has actually decreased during this time because some of the kinetic energy is
momentarily stored in the springs. When the spring bumpers return to their original length, this elastic potential
energy is transformed back into kinetic energy as the gliders move apart. After the contact, the total kinetic
energy of the gliders is equal to the initial kinetic energy of the system.

Figure 2 During this elastic collision, the total kinetic energy of the system decreases when the gliders are in contact. At this time, some
energy is stored as elastic potential energy in the spring bumpers, and then transformed back into kinetic energy. The total kinetic energy
before the collision is approximately equal to the total kinetic energy after the collision.

These energy changes are shown graphically in Fig. 3. In an

elastic collision, the total mechanical energy (i.e. kinetic and
potential energy) remains constant at all times. During the
contact between the bodies, some energy is stored as
potential energy and the total kinetic energy of the bodies is
reduced. However, this potential energy is all returned as
kinetic energy. The total kinetic energy before the collision is
equal to the total kinetic energy after the collision.
Example: In billiards, collisions play an important role.
Because the collisions between billiard balls are almost
perfectly elastic, and the balls roll on a low-friction surface, their
predictable behaviour is often used to illustrate Newton's laws
of motion. Almost elastic collisions include those where little
friction acts, such as collisions between billiard balls or
between air track gliders with repelling magnets.
Perfectly elastic collisions occur only in interactions between
atoms or subatomic particles; they do not exist in everyday
situations, such as ball games or a mash pit. Figure 4 shows
that when two electrons collide, the force of repulsion caused
by their like charge prevents them from coming into contact.
Kinetic energy is conserved in this collision; that is, the
collision is perfectly elastic.

Figure 3

Figure 4

(ii) Inelastic Collision:

An Inelastic collision is a collision in which momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is transformed into other forms of
energy.

Inelastic collisions range from almost elastic to perfectly inelastic. Collisions such as
a basketball bouncing on a floor, a gymnast bouncing on a trampoline or a tennis
ball being hit by a racquet are moderately elastic: Much of the initial kinetic energy
of the ball and racquet is transformed into heat and sound energy.
Perfectly inelastic collisions are those in which the colliding bodies stick together
after impact. Some car crashes, a collision between a meteorite and the Moon, and
a collision involving two dobs of plasticine, are perfectly inelastic. In these collisions,
much (and sometimes all) of the initial kinetic energy of the system is lost. In an
inelastic collision, not all of the kinetic energy that is transformed into elastic
potential energy during the contact is returned to the system as kinetic energy. The
missing energy is transformed mainly into heat and sound, so the total kinetic

energy of the system after contact is less than it was before (Figure 5).

Elastic Collisions in one dimension:

(1) Stationary Target:
Consider a simple head-on collision of two bodies of masses m 1 and m2
as shown in Fig. 6. For convenience, we take one of the bodies to be
stationary, with velocity v2i = 0 before the collision. That body will be the
target, and the other body will be the projectile, with velocity v1i before
the collision. We assume that this two-body system is closed (no mass
enters or leaves it) and isolated (no net external force acts on it). Let us
also make another special another assumption: the kinetic energy of the
system is the same before and after the collision. The collision is then
said to be of a special type called elastic collisions.

v1i

V2i= 0

m1

VCM

m2

(a) Before

v1f

m1 m2

m1

(b) During

V2f

Figure 5

m2

(c) After

Figure 6. Two bodies undergo an elastic collision. One of them is initially at

Figure
2: Twothe
bodies
undergo an elastic collision. One of them (the target body with mass
rest before
collision.
m2) is initially at rest before the collision. The velocities are shown (a) before, (b) during
and (c) after the collision.
The conservations of linear momentum and of kinetic energy for the collision of Fig.2. gives us

m1v 1i m1v 1f m 2v 2f
and
1
1
1
m1v 12i m1v 12f m 2 v 22f
2
2
2

(linear momentum) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - (1)

(kinetic energy)

--------------

(2)

In each of these equations, the subscript i identifies the initial velocities and the subscript f the final velocities of
the body. If we know the masses of the bodies and if we also know v 1i, the initial velocity of body 1, the only
unknown quantities are v1f and v2f, the final velocities of the two bodies.
Equation (1) can be rewrite

m1 (v 1i v 1f ) m2v 2f
And Eq. (2) can be rewrite

- - - - - - - - - - - (3)

m1 (v 12i v 12f ) m 2v 22f

m1 (v 1i v 1f )(v 1i v 1f ) m 2v 22f

- - - - - - - - - - - (4)

After dividing Eq.(4) by Eq. (3)

m1 (v 1i v 1f )(v 1i v 1f )
m1 (v 1i v 1f )

m 2v 22f
m 2v 2f

(v 1i v 1f ) v 2f (5)
Putting the value of v2f in Eq. (3) we get

m 1 (v 1i v 1f ) m 2 (v 1i v 1f )
v 1i (m1 m 2 ) v 1f (m1 m 2 )
v 1f

(m 1 m 2 )
v 1i (6)
(m 1 m 2 )

And putting the value of v1f in Eq. (5) we get

v 1i

(m 1 m 2 )
v 1i v 2f
(m 1 m 2 )

(m 1 m 2 m 1 m 2 )
v 1i v 2f
(m 1 m 2 )
v 2f

2m 1
v 1i (7)
(m 1 m 2 )

That is v2f is always positive, that is the target body with mass m 2 always moves forward. From Eq. (6) we see
that v1f may be of either sign that is the projectile body with mass m 1 moves forward if m 1 > m2 but rebounds if
m1 < m2.

Some special situation:

(a) Equal masses:
If m1 = m2, then Eq. (6) and (7) becomes,
v1f = 0

and

v2f = v1i

That is after a head-on collision of bodies with equal masses, body 1 (projectile) stops and body 2 (target)
takes off with the initial speed of body 1. In head-on collisions, bodies of equal masses simply exchange
velocities. This is true even if the target particle is not initially at rest.

(b) A massive target:

A massive target means, m2 >> m1, Then Eq. (6) and (7) becomes
v1f = -v1i (neglecting m 1)

2m

1
v 1i (8)
and v 2f
m
2

That is body 1 simply bounces back in the same direction from which it came, its speed essentially
unchanged. Body 2 moves forward with a low speed, because the quantity in parentheses in Eq. (8) is
much less than unity.

(c) A massive projectile:

That is m1 >> m2. The n the Eq. (6) and (7) becomes
v1f v1i

and

v2f 2v1i (neglecting m2) ----------------------------------------- (9)

Equation (9) tells us that body 1 simply keeps on going, scarcely slowed by the collision. Body 2 charges
ahead at twice the speed of the body 1.

(2) Moving Target:

Let us consider the elastic collision in which both
bodies are moving before they undergo an elastic
collision.

v1i

v2i
x

For the situation of Fig. (7), the conservation of linear

momentum is written as

m1

m2

Fig. 3:7.
Two
bodies
headed
for an elastic
Figure
Two
bodies
headed
for ancollision.
elastic collision.

m1v1i m2 v 2i m1v1f m2 v 2f (10)

And the conservation of kinetic energy is written as

1
1
1
1
m1v 12i m 2 v 22i m1v 12f m 2v 22f (11)
2
2
2
2
Equation (10) and (11) can be written as

m1 (v 1i v 1f ) m 2 (v 2i v 2f ) (12 )
and
m1 (v 1i v 1f )(v 1i v 1f ) m 2 (v 2i v 2f )(v 2i v 2f ) (13 )
After dividing Eq. (!3) by Eq.(12) we get,

m1 (v 1i v 1f )(v 1i v 1f ) m 2 (v 2 i v 2f )(v 2 i v 2f )

m1 (v 1i v 1f )
m 2 (v 2 i v 2f )
(v 1i v 1f ) (v 2 i v 2f )
v 2f v 1i v 1f v 2 i (14 )
Putting the value of v2f in Eq. (12) we get

m1v 1i m1v 1f m 2 v 2 i m 2 v 1i m 2 v 1f m 2 v 2 i

v 1i m1 m 2 v 1f m1 m 2 2m 2 v 2 i
then ,
v 1f

m1 m 2
2m 2
v 1i
v
m1 m 2
m1 m 2 2i

(15 )

Putting the value of v1f in Eq. (14) we get

m1 m2
2m 2
v 1i
v v
m1 m2
m1 m2 2i 2i
m1 m2 m1 m2
2m 2 m1 m 2

v 1i
v
m1 m2
m1 m2 2i

v 2f v 1i

v 2f

2m1

m1 m2

v 1i

m 2 m1

m1 m2

v 2i (16 )

Inelastic Collisions in one dimension:

Figure 8 shows a one dimensional inelastic collision in which one body is initially stationary. The law of
conservation of linear momentum holds, so
v

m1v (m1 m 2 )V (17 )

or
V

m1
v (18 )
(m 1 m 2 )

m1

m2 at rest
Before
Fig. 4: A completely inelastic collision between two bodies.

m1 + m2
After

Figure 8. A complete inelastic collision between two bodies.

Where V represents the final velocity of the stuck-together bodies. Equation (18) tells us that the final speed is
always less than that of the incoming body.
If both bodies (projectile and target) are moving prior to a completely inelastic collision, we replace Eq. (17) with

m1v 1 m 2 v 2 (m1 m 2 )V (19 )

or
V

m1
m2
v1
v 2 (20 )
(m 1 m 2 )
(m 1 m 2 )

In Eq. (19) m1v1 is the initial linear momentum of one body, and m 2v2 is that of the other body.

Elastic collisions in two dimensions:

We consider a glancing collision (it is not head-on) between a projectile body and a target body at rest. Figure 9
shows a typical situation. After the collision, the two bodies fly
off at angles 1 and 2, as the figure shows.
y

V2f

From the conservation of linear momentum (a vector

relation), we can write two scalar equations:

m1v1i m1v1f cos 1 m 2 v 2f cos 2

and
0 -m1v1f sin 1 m 2 v 2f sin 2

(x - comp)

m2
V1i

(y - comp)

m1

x
2

If the collision is elastic, kinetic energy is also conserved:

V1f

1
1
1
m1v12i m 2 v12f m 2 v 2
2f
2
2
2

(kinetic energy)

Figure 9. An elastic collision between two bodies.

Fig. 5: An elastic collision between two bodies in which the collision is not head-on.
The body with mass m2 (the target) is initially at rest.

These three equations contain seven variables: two masses,

m1 and m2; three speeds, v1i, v1f, and v2f and two angles, 1 and 2. If we know any four of these quantities, we
can solve the three equations for the remaining three quantities.

Problem Sheet - Collision

1.

Suppose that two blocks move toward each other on a frictionless linear air track. After the
collision, the two blocks stick together. The masses and initial velocities are m A = 0.50 kg, VA1 = 2.0
ms, mB = 0.30 kg, VB1 = -2.0 ms. (a) What is the total momentum of the two trolleys before the
collision? (b) What is the total momentum of the two trolleys after the collision? (c) Calculate the final
velocity of the trolleys. (d) What is the total kinetic energy of the two trolleys before the collision? (e)
What is the total kinetic energy of the two trolleys after the collision? (f) Is this collision elastic or
inelastic? Justify your answer. (g) How much kinetic energy is lost during this collision? (h) Explain
what has happened to this lost energy.

2.

A car of mass 1000 kg travelling west at 20 m/s crashes into the rear of a stationary bus of mass 5000
kg. The vehicles lock together on impact. Assume that road friction is negligible. (a) What is their joint
velocity immediately after the collision? (b) What is the total kinetic energy of the system before the
collision? (c) What is the total kinetic energy of the system after the collision? (d) Is this an elastic or
inelastic collision? Explain. (e) How much kinetic energy is lost during this collision?

3.

In a feat of public marksmanship, you fire a bullet into a hanging target. The target, with bullet
embedded, swing upward. Noting the height reached at the top of the swing, you immediately inform
the crowd of the bullets speed. If the mass of the bullet is 12 g, the mass of the block on the ballistic
pendulum (hanging target) is 2kg, and the final height is 10.4 cm, what speed did you announce to the
crowd?

4.

A neutron of mass m1 and speed v1i collides elastically with a carbon nucleus of mass m 2 at rest. (a)
What are the final velocities of both particles? (b) What fraction of its initial energy does the neutron
lose?

5.

Two identical bowling balls, each of mass 4.0 kg, move toward each other across a frictionless
horizontal surface with equal speeds of 3.0 m/s. During the collision, 20 J of the initial kinetic
energy is transformed into heat and sound. After the collision the balls move away from each other.
Calculate the velocity of each ball after the collision.

6.

Two metal spheres, suspended by vertical cords, initially just touch. Sphere 1, with mass m1= 30g, is
pulled to the left to height h1 = 8.0 cm, and then released. After swing down, it undergoes an elastic
collision with sphere 2, whose mass m 2 = 75 g. (a) What is the velocity v1f of sphere 1 just after the
collision? (b) To what height h1 does sphere 1 swing to the left after the collision? (c) What is the
velocity v2f of sphere 2 just after the collision? (d) To what height h2 does sphere 2 swing after the
collision?

7.

A billiard ball moving at a speed of 2.2 m/s strikes an identical stationary ball a glancing blow. After the
o
collision, one ball is found to be moving at a speed of 1.1 m/s in a direction making a 60 angle with the
original line of motion. (a) Find the velocity and angle of the other ball. (b) Can the collision be inelastic,
given these data.

8.

Two skaters collide and embrace, in a completely inelastic

collision. That is, they stick together after impact suggested in
Fig, where the origin is placed at the point of collision. Alfred,
whose mass mA is 83 kg, is originally moving east with speed
vA = 6.2 km/h. Barbara, whose mass m B is 55 kg, is originally
moving north with speed vB = 7.8 km/h. (a) What is the V of the
couple after impact? (b) What is the fractional change in the
kinetic energy of the skaters because of the collision?

Y (north)

vA

M = mA+mB
x (east)

mA
CM
VB

9.

The figure below shows an elastic collision of two pucks on a frictionless air table. Puck A has mass
mA= 0.5 kg, and puck B has mass m B = 0.3 kg. Puck A has an initial velocity of 4.0 ms in the positive
xdirection and a final velocity of 2.0 m s in an unknown direction. Puck B is initially at rest. We want
to find the final speed VB2 of puck B and the angles and as illustrated in the figure.