Asked by ji

A girl is standing still in the middle of a baseball field. The girl catches the baseball and begins to move in the same direction as the thrown ball.

What type of collision is being described?

inelastic, since the girl moves in the same direction as the thrown ball
inelastic, since the girl moves in the opposite direction of the thrown ball
elastic, since the girl moves in the same direction as the thrown ball
elastic, since the girl moves in the opposite direction of the thrown ball

All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
inelastic, since the girl moves in the same direction as the thrown ball.

Explanation: when she catches the ball they move together (they "stick"), so momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not (some is lost to deformation/sound), making it a (perfectly) inelastic collision.