When a tennis ball is thrown against a wall it appears to bounce back with exactly the same speed as it struck the wall. Is momentum conserved for this collision? Explain!

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Physics

Rodney Sweeney

1 November, 15:51

When a tennis ball is thrown against a wall it appears to bounce back with exactly the same speed as it struck the wall. Is momentum conserved for this collision? Explain!

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April Parrish · Answer 1

When a tennis ball is thrown against a wall it appears to bounce back with exactly the same speed as it struck the wall. The momentum will remain conserved in this case. The law of conservation of momentum states that when no external force is acting on a system, the initial momentum is equal to the final momentum.

Here, this is a case of inelastic collision. The kinetic energy is not conserved in this case. Some of the energy is lost in the form of heat, sound etc.