Question

Which are examples of perfectly inelastic collisions? Check all that apply.

a baseball bouncing off a bat
bumper cars bumping off of each other
a cue ball hitting an eight ball and stopping
a plane landing on an aircraft carrier
rain sticking to a window
two train cars coupling together

Answer 1

Perfectly inelastic collisions are ones in which the colliding bodies stick together after impact. The correct choices:

- rain sticking to a window (the drop sticks to the window)
- two train cars coupling together (they lock and move as one afterward)

The others involve the objects separating after the collision, so they are not perfectly inelastic.