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1
Newton’s 3rd law and Conservation of
momentum
Newton’s 3rd law
FBA = -FAB
A B m A v A m Au A mB v B mB u B
FAB FBA
t t
mAv A mAu A mB vB mB u B
mAu A mB u B mA v A mB vB
2
Example 1
A bullet of mass 10 g traveling horizontally at a speed of
100 ms-1 embeds itself in a block of wood of mass 990 g
suspended by strings so that it can swing freely. Find
(a) the vertical height through which the block rises, and
(b) how much of the bullet’s energy becomes internal
energy.
Solution:
(a) Let v be the velocity of the block just after
impact.
By conservation of momentum,
(0.01)(100) = (0.01 + 0.99)v 100 ms-1
v = 1 ms-1
By conservation of energy, h
½ mv2 = mgh
½ (1)2 = 10h v
h = 0.05 m
3
Example 1
A bullet of mass 10 g traveling horizontally at a speed of
100 ms-1 embeds itself in a block of wood of mass 990 g
suspended by strings so that it can swing freely. Find
(a) the vertical height through which the block rises, and
(b) how much of the bullet’s energy becomes internal
energy.
Solution:
(b) Some of the K.E. is converted into internal
energy.
Energy required
= ½ mu2 – ½ (m + M)v2 100 ms-1
= ½ (0.01)(100)2 – ½ (0.01 + 0.99)(1)2
h
= 49.5 J
v
4
Application 1 – measuring the inertial mass
5
Application 1 – measuring the inertial mass
Consider two trolleys of m1 and m2 are in contact. A
spring is used to cause them to explode, moving off the
velocity v1 and v2.
v1 v2
m1 m2 m1 m2
By conservation of momentum,
m2 0.16 1
0 = m1(-0.16) + m2 (0.96)
m1 0.96 6
The ratio of the masses m1: m2 = 6:1
7
Applications 2 – Rocket engine
The rocket engine pushes
out large masses of hot gas.
The hot gas is produced by
mixing the fuel (liquid
hydrogen) with liquid oxygen
in the combustion chamber
and burning the mixture
fiercely.
The thrust arises from the
large increase in momentum
of the exhaust gases.
8
Applications 2 – Jet engine
A jet engine uses the
surrounding air for its oxygen
supply.
The compressor draws in air
at the front, compresses it,
fuel is injected and the
mixture burns to produce hot
exhaust gases which escape
at high speed from the rear of
the engine.
These cause forward
propulsion.
9
Recoil of rifles
Two factors affects the recoil speed of a rifle.
1 momentum given to the bullet
2 momentum given to the gases produced by the
explosion.
gas
bullet
rifle
10
Example 3
A rife fires a bullet with velocity 900 ms-1 and the mass of
the bullet is 0.012 kg. The mass of the rifle is 4 kg and the
momentum of gas ejected is about 4 kg ms-1. Find the
velocity of the recoil of the rifle.
-1
gas (4 kg ms-1) 900 ms
v
rifle bullet
Solution:
By conservation of momentum
0 = 0.012 x 900 + (-4) + 4v
v = -1.7 ms-1
The recoil velocity is 1.7 ms-1 backward
11
mv mu
Rearrange terms in F =
t
Ft = mv mu
12
a Force-time graph of impact
force / N force / N
time / s time / s
14
Collisions
15
Different kinds of collisions
Assume no external force acts on colliding bodies.
16
Relative velocity rule
(For elastic collisions only)
relative speed before collision = relative speed after
collision
u2 v2
u1 v1
u1 – u2 = v2 – v1
17
Find the velocities of A and B after the elastic
collision.
5 ms-1 3 ms-1 v2
v1
1 kg 2 kg
Before collision After collision
By conservation of momentum,
(1)(5) + (2)(3) = (1)(v1) + (2)(v2)
v1 + 2v2 = 11 --- (1)
By relative velocity rule, 5 – 3 = -(v1 – v2)
v2 – v1 = 2 --- (2)
∴ v1 = 2.33 ms-1 and v2 = 4.33 ms-1
18
Trolley A of mass m with velocity u collides elastically with
trolley B of mass M at rest. Find their velocities v and V
after collision.
v V
At rest
u
A B A B
q
v1
Along the line of centres,
mu cos a mv1 cosq mv2 u cos a v1 cosq v2 (1)
Perpendicular to the line of centres,
mu sin a mv1 sin q u sin a v1 sin q (2)
For elastic collision,
1 1 1
mu mv1 mv2 u 2 v1 v 2 (3)
2 2 2 2 2
2 2 2 24
(1)2 + (2)2:
u cos a u sin a v1 cos q v 2 v1 sin 2 q
2 2 2 2 2 2
2v1v2 cosq 0
cosq 0
q 90
v v
Force of impact
26
Elastic collision between a smooth ball
and a fixed surface
Since the collision is elastic, after the impact, it rebounds
with the same speed.
v q f v