Answer carefully, with reasons :
(a) In an elastic collision of two billiard balls, is the total kinetic energy conserved during the short time of collision of the balls (i.e. when they are in contact)?
(b) Is the total linear momentum conserved during the short time of an elastic collision of two balls?

3 years ago

(a) In an elastic collision, the initial and ultimate kinetic energy are equal. There is no kinetic energy conservation when the two balls contact. It is transformed into kinetic energy.

(b) In an elastic collision, the system’s total linear momentum is conserved.