Question

When it comes to a car crash, which type of collision is better for the health of the driver?

A) inelastic, because kinetic energy is not conserved

B) elastic, because momentum and kinetic energy are conserved

C) inelastic, because momentum is conserved

D) both are equally safe

Answer 1

Inelastic collision is safe for the health of the driver. In elastic collision the kinetic energy is conserved and thus the energy before collision will again get converted into the kinetic energy again thus making the car move with some velocity instead of coming to rest. But what exactly we want is after the collision that energy should get absorbed by the car to a maximum extent instead of affecting the driver. Therefore the cars are made more of shock proof materials. Thus option (a) is correct.