The total momentum of ball & Earth is conserved. The momentum of the ball alone isn't conserved even if it rebounds with the same speed, because the direction of momentum changes.pyman12 said:Say I drop a ball of mass 5kg from a height of 2 meters, assuming no air resistance, it will hit the ground with a velocity of 6.26m/s and collide with the ground, and rebound. From the law of conservation of momentum, 6.26 * 5 = v * 5, where v is the new velocity of the ball. But if the ball has lost kinetic energy, then through Ek = 0.5 * 5 * v^2, doesn't this mean the velocity of the ball has decreased? And as a result, it is impossible for momentum to be conserved?
A.T. said:The total momentum of ball & Earth is conserved. The momentum of the ball alone isn't conserved even if it rebounds with the same speed, because the direction of momentum changes.
Yes, that is basically what Newtons 3rd Law is about. There are equal but opposite forces on Earth & ball. So the changes in their momentum are also equal but opposite. Hence the total momentum doesn't change.pyman12 said:So the Earth has also gained some momentum as a result from the collision, thus balancing the momentum before and after the impact?
HallsofIvy said:I am puzzled by your question, "How can momentum be conserved in an inelastic collision". "Elastic" or "inelastic" refers to conservation of energy and has nothing to do with conservation of momentum.
In an inelastic collision, the total momentum of the system is conserved. This means that the total amount of momentum before the collision is equal to the total amount of momentum after the collision. However, the individual momenta of the objects involved may change.
An inelastic collision is a type of collision where the kinetic energy of the system is not conserved. This means that some of the kinetic energy is lost, usually in the form of heat or sound.
The mass of an object affects the conservation of momentum in an inelastic collision by determining the amount of momentum that the object has. Objects with larger mass will have more momentum, and therefore, their impact in the collision will be greater.
Yes, momentum can still be conserved in a perfectly inelastic collision. In a perfectly inelastic collision, the objects involved stick together after the collision and move as one. While the kinetic energy may not be conserved, the total momentum of the system is still conserved.
In an inelastic collision, the velocity of the objects involved may change. This is because some of the kinetic energy is lost during the collision. The change in velocity will depend on the mass and initial velocity of the objects.