A car bumps into a garbage can and pushes it down the driveway. Why is this considered an inelastic collision?

A) kinetic energy is conserved between the car and the trash can
B) kinetic energy it transferred to potential energy during the collision
C) momentum is not conserved between the trash can and the car
D) kinetic energy is transferred to sound and heat energy and energy to possibly deform the garbage can

Inelastic and Elastic Collisions Quick Check

1.Two particles of a gas collide. Why is this considered an elastic collision?
a.they bounce off each other, conserving energy and momentum.

2.A car bumps into a garbage can and pushes it down the driveway. Why is this considered an inelastic collision?
a.Kinetic energy is transferred to sound and heat energy and energy to possibly deform the garbage can.

3.In this Newton's cradle, one metal ball is pulled back, causing the other balls to move. Is this an elastic or inelastic collision and why?
a.elastic, because kinetic energy and momentum are conserved within the system

4.Is a football tackle an elastic or inelastic collision and why?
a.inelastic, because kinetic energy is not conserved

I got it wrong 😭

It’s D

Janksty is right thank u g

nvm I put B

Can someone help me pls 🥺

Janksty is still right <33

The correct answer is D) kinetic energy is transferred to sound and heat energy and energy to possibly deform the garbage can.

To understand why this is considered an inelastic collision, it's important to know the characteristics of an inelastic collision. In an inelastic collision, kinetic energy is not conserved. Instead, some of the kinetic energy is transferred to other forms of energy, such as sound and heat energy.

In this scenario, when the car bumps into the garbage can, kinetic energy from the car is transferred to sound and heat energy, as well as causing the garbage can to possibly deform. The collision results in a loss of kinetic energy as it is converted into different forms of energy, which is a characteristic of an inelastic collision.

The explanations for the other answer choices are as follows:

A) Kinetic energy is not conserved in this collision, as mentioned earlier.

B) Although potential energy may be momentarily involved during the collision due to the garbage can being pushed up the driveway, it does not characterize the nature of the collision as elastic or inelastic.

C) This is incorrect because momentum is still conserved in the collision. While the garbage can may gain some momentum from the car, the total momentum of the system (car + garbage can) before and after the collision is conserved.