Which of the following is an elastic collision?(1 point)

Question

Responses

Two balls of modeling clay hitting each other.
Two balls of modeling clay hitting each other.

Two hands clapping.
Two hands clapping.

An apple falling to Earth from a tree.
An apple falling to Earth from a tree.

A ping-pong paddle hitting a ball.

Answer 1

An elastic collision is one in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. Among the options provided, the best example of an elastic collision is:

A ping-pong paddle hitting a ball.

In this scenario, the ball bounces off the paddle, and while there may be some energy loss due to sound and deformation, the interaction closely resembles the characteristics of an elastic collision compared to the other scenarios given. The other options involve inelastic collisions where kinetic energy is not conserved, such as the modeling clay stick together or the apple falling which doesn't involve a collision.