LESSON 1: CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

MAIN PAGE

Lesson Objectives: Where have you heard of momentum? – Like inertia – something keeps on going.
Inertia is actually the same as mass.

The most important thing about momentum is that it is conserved.

What does ‘conserved’ mean in physics? (What does the law of conservation of energy tell us?)

We can state the conservation of momentum as:

 Momentum cannot be created or destroyed (in any closed system)

 The total momentum in a closed system is constant
 The initial momentum = the final momentum (in any closed system)

When you find a conservation law in physics, it is like finding a diamond. You can use it to solve so
many problems.
 
Formula: p = mv this is a vector equation
Units: there are no special units (this means that you don’t have to convert everything to MKS right?)
Units: kg ⋅ m/s

When we work with momentum problems, we assume that there are no external forces acting on the
objects – so the velocities are constant (except at the instant of collision where the objects exert forces
on each other and the velocities change).

Momentum in 1 dimension (linear)

As always, in 1 dimension we can leave off the vector symbols and just make sure we use + and –
when appropriate.

Examples:

1. A 1000 kg car travelling at 80 km/hr collides with a

stationary 5000 kg truck. What is their final speed if they
stick together? (will the final speed be greater or lesser than
80 km/hr?)

pi = pf
m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1+m2)vf
(1000kg)(80 km/hr) + (5000 kg)(0) = (6000kg)vf
vf = 80000/6000 km/hr
= 13.3 km/hr
<This is the first simple type of problem that you can solve with momentum. Learn to recognize the
types of problems. >

2. A 300g ball moving at +3 m/s collides head-on with a 400 g ball moving towards it at 5 m/s. If the
first ball rebounds at -2 m/s, what is the final velocity of the second ball?
(head-on = a one dimensional or linear collision)

How to diagram:

before
m1 v1 v2 m2

?
after
v1' m1 m2

pi = pf
m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v1' + m2v2' NOTE: we use ' (prime) to mean after the collision.

(300g)(3m/s) + (400g)(-5m/s) = (300g)(-2m/s) + 400g v2'

…
v2' = – 1.25 m/s

Homework:

Martindale:
1. Read Pg 298 – 303
2. Do Pg 303-304 # 1-5

Nelson: Pg 243 #1, 2, 3, 5,6,7,9