Question
A box slides on frictionless ice and collides with another box sliding in the same direction. If the two boxes go in opposite directions after the collision, what assumption can be made about the type of collision that occurred? A. It was an inelastic collision. B. It was a powerful collision C. It was an elastic collision. D. It was a non-elastic collision
Answer
4
(195 Votes)
Nigella
Expert · Tutor for 3 years
Answer
C. It was an elastic collision.
Explanation
## Step 1: In physics, collisions are categorized into two main types based on the conservation of kinetic energy: elastic collision and inelastic collision. ## Step 2: In an elastic collision, the total kinetic energy before and after the collision is conserved. This means that the total energy of the system remains the same before and after the collision. ## Step 3: In an inelastic collision, the total kinetic energy is not conserved. This means that the total energy of the system after the collision is less than before the collision. ## Step 4: Given that the two boxes go in opposite directions after the collision, this indicates that the kinetic energy was conserved during the collision. This is a characteristic of an elastic collision.