Term Meaning

acceleration rate of change of velocity

collision an impact between two objects while in motion of one body or both.
Conservation of momentum total momentum before collision = total momentum after collision
displacement directional distance
force rate of change of momentum
impulse change of momentum
kinetic energy energy due to motion of an object
magnitude size
mass amount of matter in body
Momentum combined effect of mass and velocity
proportional having a constant ratio between two quantities
rate per unit time
rebound spring back
scalar quantity a physical quantity with only size but no direction
vector quantity physical quantity with size and direction
velocity rate of change of displacement or directional speed

MOMENTUM
Objectives:
 Understand the concepts of momentum and impulse
 Recall and use the equation momentum = mass × velocity, p=mv
 Recall and use the equation for impulse Ft = mv – mu
 Apply the principle of the conservation of momentum to solve simple problems in one dimension

MOMENTUM is the product of the mass of the body and its velocity.
Momentum= mass x velocity
Momentum is a vector quantity as velocity has direction.
It is measured in kg m/s or Ns.

Impulse
A force will change an object’s motion.

The effect of the force depends on two things:

1. How big the force is
2. the time it acts for

Impulse= force x time

Therefore, a change in momentum takes force and time (impulse). So, we

can say that:

Impulse= change in momentum

Ft= mv-mu (Note: the area under the graph between force (y- axis) and time (x- axis) is equal to the impulse.)
Principle of conservation of momentum

The principle of conservation of momentum states that:

For two or more bodies in an isolated system acting upon each other, their total momentum remains constant
unless an external force is applied.

Total momentum before collision= total momentum after collision

Types of collisions:

Elastic collisions:
 This is a collision for which both momentum and kinetic energy of the two bodies are
conserved.
 The two objects collide and return to their original shape with no loss of total kinetic
energy and after the collision, the two objects move separately.

m1 u1 + m2 u2 = m1 v1 + m2 v2

Inelastic collision:
 A collision in which two objects stick together father colliding.
 In this type the momentum is only conserved but the kinetic energy of the two bodies is
not conserved.
m1 u1 + m2 u2 = (m1 + m2) v
(V is the combined velocity of the two objects together)

Elastic collision Inelastic Collision

This is a collision for which both momentum and kinetic
energy of the two bodies are
conserved.
The two objects collide and return to their original
shape with no loss of total kinetic
energy and after the collision, the two objects move
separately
A collision in which two objects stick together father
colliding.
In this type the momentum is only conserved but the
kinetic energy of the two bodies is not conserved.
m1 u1 + m2 u2 = (m1 + m2) v
(V is the combined velocity of the two objects together)

m1 u1 + m2 u2 = m1 v1 + m2 v2

Examples:
Examples:
 When we throw a ball on the floor, it bounces
back. This is an example of elastic collision
where both momentum and kinetic energy are
conserved.
 The collision between the atoms is also an
example of elastic collision.
 The collision between two billiard balls is an
example of elastic collision.
 The collisions which tend to slow down the
involved bodies or leads to them sticking
together are called inelastic collisions.
 Car crash
 The bullet hitting wood
 Seat belt tied to a person and the sudden
application of breaks is also an example of
inelastic collision.