The coefficient of the restitution of an object is defined as the ratio of its outgoing to incoming speed when the object collides with a rigid surface.For an object with a coefficient of 0.78,what fraction of the object's kinetic energy is lost during a single collision?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The fraction of kinetic energy lost is given by 1 - (coefficient of restitution)^2. For a coefficient of 0.78, the fraction lost is 1 - (0.78)^2 = 1 - 0.6084 = 0.3916, or approximately 39%.

The Coefficient of the Restitution of an Object Is Defined