Law of conservation of momentum is defined for two or more bodies in an isolated system acting upon

each other, their total momentum remains constant unless an external force is applied. Therefore,
momentum can neither be created nor destroyed.

Law of conservation of momentum is an important consequence of Newton’s third law of motion.

Derivation of conservation of momentum

Consider two colliding particles A and B whose masses are m1 and m2 with initial and final velocities
as u1 and v1 of A and u2 and v2 of B. The time of contact between two particles is given as t.

A=m1(v1−u1) (change in momentum of particle A)

B=m2(v2−u2) (change in momentum of particle B)
FBA=−FAB (from third law of motion)
FBA=m2∗a2=m2(v2−u2)t
FAB=m1∗a1=m1(v1−u1)t
m2(v2−u2)t=−m1(v1−u1)t
m1u1+m2u2=m1v1+m2v2
Therefore, above is the equation of law of conservation of momentum where, m1u1+m2u2 is the
representation of total momentum of particles A and B before collision and m1v1+m2v2 is the
representation of total momentum of particles A and B after collision.

Common Forces in Mechanics

Common Force in Mechanics: In the study of mechanics, you will deal with a wide range of
forces. These forces can be broadly divided into two types, contact and non-contact forces.
Some non-contact forces are the gravitational force, electrical and magnetic forces between
charged and magnetic bodies. In this article, we will focus on the contact forces which are
common forces in mechanics.

Common Forces in Mechanics

As mentioned, there are a variety of force that exists in
the universe. Let’s study the most common forces among
them in detail:
I. Contact Force

A contact force arises when an object is in contact with

some other object. Whenever two objects are in contact
with each other, mutual contact forces exist which satisfy
Newton’s Third Law of Motion. The component of the
contact force normal to the contact surfaces is called
‘Normal Reaction’.

Also, the component parallel to the surfaces is

called ‘Friction’. A contact force can arise even when
solids are in contact with liquids. Some examples of
contact forces are buoyant force experienced by a solid
immersed in a liquid, air resistance, viscous force, etc.

The tension in a string and the force due to a spring are

two other common forces of mechanics. What happens
when you compress or extend a spring using an external
force? A restoring force proportional to the compression
or elongation is generated, right? It goes back into its
original form. T

his restoring force can be represented as F = –kx, where

x is the displacement and k is the force constant. The
negative sign simply means that the restoring force is
opposite to the external force. In case of an inextensible
string, the force constant is very high. The restoring force
is called ‘Tension’.

II. Electrical Force – the foundation of contact

forces

You already know that there are four fundamental forces

in nature –

•Gravitational force

•Electromagnetic force

•Weak nuclear force

•Strong nuclear force.

Of these, only the first two are relevant in our study of

mechanics. What if we told you that all the contact forces
mentioned above arise from electrical forces? A little
difficult to believe since mechanics deals with uncharged
and non-magnetic bodies.

However, since all bodies are made up of charged nuclei

and electrons (at the microscopic level), all contact forces
can be traced back to the electrical forces between the
charged constituents of the bodies.

III. Friction

Imagine a body with mass ‘m’ at rest on a horizontal

table. The body is at rest because the force of gravity
(mg) is being canceled by the Normal Reaction Force (N)
of the table.

What happens if we apply a horizontal force ‘F’ to the

body? Ideally, the body should move with the
acceleration F/m, provided there is no other external
force on the body. However, we observe that if the force
is too small, then the body does not move at all. This
implies that there is some force which nullifies the small
horizontal force, resulting in a zero displacement.

This force, parallel to the surface of the body in contact

with the table is called frictional force or friction. It is
denoted as fs, where the sub-script ‘s’ represents static
friction.

Remember, static friction comes into existence only when

an external force (F) is applied. As F increases, fs
increases too. fs is equal and opposite to the applied
force F. It increases up to a certain limit, keeping the body
at rest. The purpose of this force is to oppose the
impending motion and is called Static Friction.

Now, we also know that as we increase the applied force,

after a certain limit the body begins to move. This limiting
value of static friction (fs)max is independent of the area of
contact and is related to the Normal Force (N) as follows:

(fs)max = μsN …… (1)

Where μs is a constant of proportionality and is called the

coefficient of static friction. It depends only on the nature
of the surfaces in contact. Therefore, the law of static
friction is written as:
fs ≤ μsN …… (2)

Kinetic Friction

When F exceeds (fs)max, the body starts sliding on the

surface. As this motion starts, the frictional force fs starts
decreasing from its maximum value and another type of
frictional force is formed – Kinetic or Sliding Friction,
denoted by fk, which is also independent of the area of
contact and also of the velocity. The law of kinetic friction
is written as:

fk = μkN … (3)

Where μk is the coefficient of kinetic friction which

depends only on the surfaces in contact. It has been
proved experimentally that μk is less than μs.

Once the relative motion starts, the acceleration of the

body is (F-fk)/m … according to Newton’s Second Law of
Motion. Hence, for a body moving with a constant
velocity F=fk. Also, once the applied force is removed,
the acceleration is –fk/m which brings the body to an
eventual halt.
Static Friction

While understanding frictional force, it is important to

note that it only opposes the relative motion and not all
kinds of motion. Let’s understand with the help of an
example:

Imagine a box on the floor of an accelerating train. Now,

the box is stationary with respect to the train. However,
for an observer outside the train, the box is accelerating
with a speed equal to that of the train. What forces do
you think, cause the box to accelerate?

Clearly, it is the force of static friction between the box

and the train. If there was no friction, then the box would
remain at its initial position when the train accelerates
and would hit the back of the train. This impending
relative motion is opposed by the static friction (f s). fs
allows the box to accelerate with the train keeping it
stationary with respect to the train.

Rolling friction

Ideally, a circular object, like a ring or a sphere, should

not suffer any friction when it rolls over a horizontal
plane. The reason being that at every instance, there is
only one point of contact between the body and the plane
and this point has no relative motion to the plane. Hence,
the kinetic or static friction should be zero leading to the
body rolling with a constant velocity.

But, this does not happen. We know that in order to keep

a body rolling, we will need to apply some force to
counter the resistance to motion (rolling friction). If we
take a body having the same weight as the circular body,
then we find that the static friction is much larger than
the rolling friction. In other words, a lesser force is
needed to keep the ball rolling.

When a body is rolling, the surfaces in contact get

momentarily deformed. This results in a finite area (not a
point) of the body being in contact with the surface. The
effect – the component of the contact force parallel to the
surface opposes the motion.

The Pros and Cons of Friction

In machines with different moving parts, friction plays a

negative role in opposing the relative motion and
dissipating energy in the form of heat. However, there are
many ways of reducing friction (kinetic) in a machine. The
use of lubricants, ball-bearings between moving parts, or
a thin cushion of air between solid surfaces in relative
motion are some examples.

On the other hand, friction is highly important in our daily

lives. We can walk because of the friction between our
feet and the ground. If you have ever been to an ice-rink
you will understand how difficult it is to walk when there
is little/no friction. Kinetic friction is used by brakes in
machines and automobiles.

Solved Examples for You

Q1. The figure below shows a man standing stationary

with respect to a horizontal conveyor belt that is
accelerating at 1 m/s2. What is the net force on the man?
If the coefficient of static friction between the man’s
shoes and the belt is 0.2, up to what acceleration of the
belt can the man continue to be stationary relative to the
belt? (Mass of the man = 65 kg.)
Solution: We know that,

Mass of the man = m = 65 kg

Acceleration of the belt = a = 1 m/s2
Coefficient of static friction = μs = 0.2

Hence, using Newton’s Second Law of Motion, the net

force acting on the man (F) is

F = ma = 65N

Now, the man can continue to be stationary with respect

to the conveyer belt till such time that the net force
exerted on the man is less than or equal to the frictional
force between him and the belt (fs). Therefore,

(fs)max = fs
mamax = μsN = μsmg
∴ amax = μsg = 0.2 x 10 = 2 m/s2
Therefore, the maximum acceleration of the belt up to
which the man can stand stationary is 2m/s 2.