Forest UCM MnAM InElasticCol

An Inelastic collision conservers Momentum But Not energy

Consider a collision between two bodies of mass [math]m_1[/math] and [math]m_2[/math] initially moving at speeds [math]v_1[/math] and [math]v_2[/math] respectively. They stick together after they collide so that each is moving at the same velocity [math]v[/math] after the collision.

If there are no external force then

Conservation of momentum

[math]m_1 v_1 + m_2 v_2 = \left (m_1 + m_2 \right ) v[/math]

Given that the amsses and initially velocities are known we can solve for v such that

[math]v= \frac{m_1 v_1 + m_2 v_2}{m_1 + m_2}[/math]

Forest_UCM_MnAM#Inelastic_Collision_of_2_bodies