Mistake Master · AP Physics C · Unit 4 · Topic 4.4 · Step-Through Animation
Same Momentum, Different Energy
Two crashes that look like opposites obey one shared law and disagree about a second. Momentum is conserved in every isolated collision; kinetic energy survives only when the collision is elastic. Classify by the energy, not by whether the objects bounce or stick — then extend the whole thing to a plane, one component at a time.
COLLISION LAB
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