Mr. C.

Grima

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1. INTRODUCING MOMENTUM

 The momentum of an object depends on its mass and its velocity.

In fact:
Momentum = mass x velocity = m v
(kg) (m/s)

 It is measured in units of kg m/s.

 For example if a bicycle of mass 10 kg moving at 5 m/s has a momentum of 50 kg m/s.

 Consider a force F acting on a mass m for a time t so that it accelerates from velocity u to
velocity v. The quantity (force x time) is called impulse.

Impulse = F x t

From equations of motion, acceleration:

vu
a . . . (1)
t

By Newton s Second Law is:

F  ma . . . (2)
Subsituting (1) in (2)

 v  u
F  m 
 t 
mv  mu
F
t
Or in words :

Force = change in momentum

Time taken

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 Example 1
Consider first a boy kicking a stone of
mass 1 kg and accelerating it from rest
to 10 m/s. Because the stone is rigid,
the force of his foot acts for only 1/100
second. Calculate this force.
Example 2
Now consider the same boy kicking a
football of the same mass (1 kg), in a
time of 1/10 second to give it the same
speed (10 m/s) and therefore the same
momentum (10 kg m/s).

Because the ball is soft and he follows through with his foot, this force is applied for 1/10
second (10 times longer than before).

Therefore: The longer the time of a collision, the smaller the force.

2. PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION OF MOMENTUM

Here are two balls rolling to each other so that they collide:

 When they collide they exert a force F on each other for

a short time t and so the momentum of each ball
changes.

 From Newton’s Third Law, the forces are equal and opposite. Therefore the changes in
momentum are equal and opposite.

 That is, the momentum gained by one ball is equal to the momentum lost by the other
ball.

 This is the Principle of Conservation of Momentum:

When two or more bodies act on each other,

their total momentum remains constant,
providing there is no external force acting.
That is:
total momentum before collisions = total momentum after collision
The same is true for an explosion (as an explosion is the opposite of a collision).

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Example
A bullet, mass 10 g (0.01 kg), is fired into a block of wood, mass 390 g (0.39 kg), lying on a
smooth surface. The wood then moves at a velocity of 10 m/s.
a) What was the velocity of the bullet?
b) What is the kinetic energy before and after the collision?

Note: momentum is conserved in a collision, but kinetic energy is not.

3. MORE EXAMPLES OF MOMENTUM IN COLLISIONS

 In any collision, a force is exerted for a length of time. The

examples in point 1 showed that the longer the time of a
collision, the smaller the force exerted.

 This idea is used to design safety into cars. For example,

the front and back of a car is designed to crumple, in order
to spread out the time of a collision, and so reduce the force on you.

 A seat-belt is designed to stretch slightly, to spread out the time of the crash even further,
and so reduce the force on you to a safe level: A motor-cyclist’s safety helmet is padded
inside so as to extend the time of any collision.

 In an opposite way, a hammer is designed from hard metal. This is so that the time of the
collision is as small as possible, and so the force of the hammer on a nail is as large as
possible.
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 4. EXPLOSIONS

 An explosion is the opposite of a collision objects move apart instead of coming together. A
rocket uses a controlled explosion. The rocket moves one way while the hot gases move the
opposite way. (See also page 95.) The gain of momentum of the rocket is equal and
opposite to the momentum of the hot gases that are ejected:

 A gun firing a bullet is like a rocket ejecting fuel. The bullet gains momentum in one
direction, while the gun recoils with momentum in the opposite direction.

Example
A bullet of mass 10 g (0.01 kg) is fired at 400
m/s from a rifle of mass 4 kg. What is v, the
recoil velocity of the rifle?

More Examples:

1. A car of 2 kg travels at 8 m/s towards a stationary truck of mass 6 kg. After colliding, the
trucks link and move off together.
a) What is the total momentum before the collision?
b) What is their common velocity after the collision?
c) What is the KE before and after the collision?
d) Explain the apparent loss in energy.

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2. In a sea battle, a cannon ball of mass 30 kg war fired at 200 m/s from a cannon mass of
3000kg.
a) What is the total momentum before the explosion?
b) What is the recoil velocity of the gun?

3. A heavy car A of mass 2000 kg, travelling at 10m/s, has a head-on collision with a sports car
B, of mass 500 kg. If both cars stop dead on colliding, what was the velocity of B?

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