Momentum and

Collisions
A guide why it is important not to over speed
Momentum

The concept of inertia

was introduced and
developed both in terms
of objects at rest and
objects in motion. Now,
we’ll be talking more
about inertia in motion.
A 60-kg archer stands at rest on
frictionless ice and fires a 0.50-kg
arrow horizontally at 50 m/s. With what
velocity does the archer move across
the ice after firing the arrow?
Momentum

×Motion models such as a

particle under constant
acceleration cannot be used.
× No information about the acceleration of the
arrow

×Model of a particle under

constant force cannot be used.
× No information about forces involved

×Energy models cannot be

used.
× No information about the work or the energy
(energies) involved
× A new quantity is needed – linear
momentum.
 Remember
Newton’s
second law?
Acceleration is produced
when a force acts on a
mass. The greater the
mass of an object, the
greater the amount of
force needed to
accelerate an object.
 Remember
Newton’s
second law?
F=
ma
Remember Newton’s
second law?

× The second law states that the rate

of change of momentum of a body,
is directly proportional to the force
applied and this change in
momentum takes place in the
direction of the applied force.
Momentum

The linear momentum of a particle or an object

that can be modeled as a particle of mass m
moving with a velocity v is defined to be the
product of the mass and velocity of the particle:
 A moving object
can have a large
momentum if it
has a large mass,
a high speed, or
both.
Momentum

× It is harder to stop a large truck than a

small car when both are moving at the
same speed.
× The truck has more momentum than the
car. By momentum, we mean inertia in
motion.
Momentum

× A moving truck has more

momentum than a car moving at
the same speed because the truck
has more mass.
× A fast car can have more
momentum than a slow truck.
× A truck at rest has no momentum at
all.
Momentum

A truck rolling down a hill has more momentum

than a roller skate with the same speed. But if
the truck is at rest and the roller skate moves,
then the skate has more momentum.
Momentum

think!
Can you think of a case where a roller skate and
a truck would have the same momentum?
Momentum

think!
Can you think of a case where a roller skate and
a truck would have the same momentum?

Answer: The roller skate and truck can have the same
momentum if the speed of the roller skate is much greater than
the speed of the truck. For example, a 1000-kg truck backing
out of a driveway at 0.01 m/s has the same momentum as a 1-
kg skate going 10 m/s. Both have momentum = 10 kg•m/s.
Momentum

think!
If we want to change a particle’s momentum,
how can we do it?
Momentum

think!
If we want to change a particle’s momentum,
how can we do it?

Answer: APPLY a net force to it!

Momentum

Consider the car at rest

and a net force B going
to the right is applied,
what will happen?
Momentum

Consider the car at rest

and a net force B going
to the right is applied,
what will happen?

The car will increase its

velocity and momentum
towards the right.
Momentum

Doubling the net force B

will increase the
momentum more
quickly.
Momentum

Applying a net force B to

it, will change its
momentum.

Why? Applying a net

force will change its
velocity. And there’s a
direct relationship
between the momentum
of an object and the net
force applied to it.
Momentum

What will happen

now if the car is
moving to the left
and a net force B is
applied to right?
 The change in
momentum depends on
the force that acts and
the length of time it
acts.
Impulse
Impulse

× Before the ball hits the racquet, it has so much

momentum going to the right.
× After it hits the racquet, the momentum change
drastically. The momentum will now shift going to
the left.
Impulse

× From our “new” Second Law of Newton:

Impulse

× Impulse is not a property of a

particle; rather, it is a measure of
the degree to which an external
force changes the particle’s
momentum.
Impulse

× Impulse has the unit of N•s where:

1 N = 1 kg•m/s.
Impulse

A force sustained for a long time produces more

change in momentum than does the same force
applied over a shorter period of time.
Both force and time are important in changing an
object’s momentum.
Impulse
ASSUMPTION: The ball have the same masses, and dropped
from the same height, and both will eventually come to a
stop.

WHICH OF THE TWO EXPERIENCED A LARGE CHANGE

IN MOMENTUM?
Impulse
The ball on the LEFT:
× Experienced a LARGE FORCE over
a SHORT period of time.
Impulse
The ball on the RIGHT:
× Experienced a SMALL FORCE over
a LONG period of time.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

TO INCREASE
MOMENTUM:
Apply the greatest
force as long as
possible.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

TO DECREASE MOMENTUM:
If you were in a car that was out of control
and had to choose between hitting a
haystack or a concrete wall, you would
choose the haystack.

Physics helps you to understand why

hitting a soft object is entirely different
from hitting a hard one.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

If the change in momentum occurs over a

long time, the force of impact is small.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

If the change in momentum occurs over a

short time, the force of impact is large.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

× When hitting either the wall or the

haystack and coming to a stop, the
momentum is decreased by the same
impulse.
× The same impulse does not mean the same amount of
force or the same amount of time.
× It means the same product of force and time.
× To keep the force small, we extend the time.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

×When you extend the time, you reduce

the force.
× A padded dashboard in a car is safer than a rigid
metal one.
× Airbags save lives.
× To catch a fast-moving ball, extend your hand forward
and move it backward after making contact with the
ball.
IMPULSE CHANGES M
OMENTUM

think!
When a dish falls, will the impulse be less if
it lands on a carpet than if it lands on a
hard floor?
Conservatio
n of Linear
Momentum
Momentum

2 1 1 2
Conservation of Mom
entum

The law of conservation of momentum

states that, in the absence of an external
force, the momentum of a system remains
unchanged.
Conservation of Mom
entum
The momentum before firing is zero. After firing, the net
momentum is still zero because the momentum of the
cannon is equal and opposite to the momentum of the
cannonball.
Conservation of Mom
entum

×The force on the cannonball inside the

cannon barrel is equal and opposite to the
force causing the cannon to recoil.
×The action and reaction forces are internal to
the system so they don’t change the
momentum of the cannon-cannonball
system.
× Before the firing, the momentum is zero.
× After the firing, the net momentum is still zero.
× Net momentum is neither gained nor lost.
Conservation of Mom
entum

×Momentum has both direction and

magnitude. It is a vector quantity.
× The cannonball gains momentum and the recoiling
cannon gains momentum in the opposite direction.
× The cannon-cannonball system gains none.
× The momenta of the cannonball and the cannon
are equal in magnitude and opposite in direction.
× No net force acts on the system so there is no net
impulse on the system and there is no net change
in the momentum.
Conservation of Mom
entum

In every case, the

momentum of a system
cannot change unless it is
acted on by external
forces.
When any quantity in
physics does not change,
we say it is conserved.
Conservation of Mom
entum

The law of conservation of momentum

describes the momentum of a system:
If a system undergoes changes wherein all
forces are internal, the net momentum of
the system before and after the event is
the same.
Example
A 60-kg archer stands at rest on
frictionless ice and fires a 0.50-kg
arrow horizontally at 50 m/s. With what
velocity does the archer move across
the ice after firing the arrow?
Example

In a particular crash test, a car of mass 1

500 kg collides with a wall. The initial and
final velocities of the car are vi = -15 m/s
and vf = 2.60 m/s , respectively. If the
collision lasts 0.150 s, find:
(a)the impulse caused by the
collision;
(b) and the average force exerted
on the car.
Example

In a particular crash test, a car of mass 1 500 kg collides with a

wall. find:
(a) the impulse caused by the collision;
(b) and the average force exerted on the car.
Example
In a certain men’s track and field event, the
shotput has a mass of 7.30 kg and is
released with a speed of 15.0 m/s at 40°
above the horizontal over a man’s straight
leg. What are the initial horizontal and
vertical components of the momentum of
this shot put?
Example
A marksman holds a rifle of mass mR =
3.00 kg loosely in his hands, so as to let it
recoil freely when fired. He fires a bullet of
mass mB = 5.00 g horizontally with a
velocity relative to the ground of VBx = 300
m/s. What is the recoil velocity VRx of the
rifle? What are the final momentum and
kinetic energy of the bullet? Of the riffle?
think!
Suppose you have a choice between
catching a 0.50-kg ball moving at 4.0m/s
or a 0.10 kg ball moving at 20m/s. Which
will be easier to catch?