Collisions

In an inelastic collision the total kinetic energy after the collision is not equal to the total kinetic energy before the collision.

Glancing collision is a collision that takes place under a small angle, with the incident body being nearly parallel to the surface.

An elastic collision is a collision between two or more bodies in which kinetic energy is conserved.

To solve a two dimensional elastic collision problem, decompose the velocity components of the masses along perpendicular axes.

Collisions may be classified as either inelastic or elastic collisions based on how energy is conserved in the collision.

While inelastic collisions may not conserve total kinetic energy, they do conserve total momentum.