Unlike an elastic collision, an inelastic collision is a collision where the internal kinetic energy is not conserved. In inelastic collisions, some kinetic energy of the colliding objects is lost to friction, heat, or even work. Inelastic collisions are what we mostly observe in the real world. Watch this video for an overview of inelastic and elastic collisions.
Source: Engineering Technology Simulation Learning Videos, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xe2r6wey26E
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.