Key Term: K initial = K final

Definition

Definition: The principle of conservation of kinetic energy, which states that the total amount of kinetic energy in a system remains constant before and after an event or interaction.

Analogy

Analogy: Imagine a game of billiards where you hit one ball into another. The total amount of kinetic energy before the collision is equal to the total amount of kinetic energy after the collision, just like how the sum of all the balls' energies remains unchanged.

Related terms

Momentum: The product of an object's mass and velocity, which is also conserved in a closed system.

Elastic Collision: A collision between objects where both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved.

Inelastic Collision: A collision between objects where momentum is conserved but kinetic energy is not conserved.