Which one of these statements concerning elastic collisions is FALSE?
Select one:
a. The two objects remain together after collision
b. The kinetic energy is conserved
c. The momentum is conserved
Think of throwing an egg on a wall.
Would that be elastic collision?
To determine which statement is false, let's examine each statement:
a. The statement "The two objects remain together after collision" is referring to an inelastic collision, not an elastic collision. In an elastic collision, the two objects do not stick together and remain separate after the collision.
b. The statement "The kinetic energy is conserved" is true for elastic collisions. In an elastic collision, the total kinetic energy before and after the collision remains constant. This means that no kinetic energy is lost or gained during the collision.
c. The statement "The momentum is conserved" is true for both elastic and inelastic collisions. According to the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum of a system of objects is constant if no external forces act on the system. Therefore, in both elastic and inelastic collisions, the total momentum before and after the collision remains the same.
Based on the explanations above, we can conclude that the FALSE statement is option a. "The two objects remain together after collision" is false for elastic collisions.