Answer to Question #148713 in Physics for Arianna Dominguez

Question

A system consists of a student on a frictionless surface and a box moving toward the student. The system is closed an isolated. When the box collides with the student the student hold onto the box so that the event can be treated as a completely and elastic collision. What is conserved in the system?

Answer 1

In perfectly inelastic collisions only the momentum conserves, while there kinetic energy is not (https://www.khanacademy.org/science/physics/linear-momentum/elastic-and-inelastic-collisions/a/what-are-elastic-and-inelastic-collisions?modal=1). Thus, the answer is:

Momentum.