Momentum

Momentum
Force is the Rate of Change of
Momentum

Momentum
Momentum is a property of moving
matter.
Momentum describes the tendency of
objects to keep going in the same
direction with the same speed.
Changes in momentum result from
forces or create forces.

Momentum
The momentum of a ball depends on its
mass and velocity.
Ball B has more momentum than ball A.

Momentum and Inertia

Inertia is another property of mass that
resists changes in velocity; however,
inertia depends only on mass.
Inertia is a scalar quantity.
Momentum is a property of moving
mass that resists changes in a moving
objects velocity.
Momentum is a vector quantity.

Momentum
Ball A is 1 kg moving 1m/sec, ball B is 1kg at 3
m/sec.
A 1 N force is applied to deflect the motion of
each ball.
What happens?
Ball
deflects
DoesBthe
force deflect both balls equally?
much less than
ball A when the
same force is
applied because
ball B had a
greater initial

Kinetic Energy and Momentum

Kinetic energy and momentum are different
quantities, even though both depend on mass
and speed.
Kinetic energy is a scalar quantity.
Momentum is a vector, so it always depends
on direction.

Two balls with the same mass and speed have the same
kinetic energy but opposite momentum.

Calculating Momentum
The momentum of a moving object is
its mass multiplied by its velocity.
That means momentum increases
with both mass and velocity.
Momentum
(kg m/sec)

p=mv

Mass (kg)

Velocity (m/sec)

Comparing momentum
A car is traveling at a velocity of 13.5 m/sec
(30 mph) north on a straight road. The mass
of the car is 1,300 kg. A motorcycle passes
the car at a speed of 30 m/sec (67 mph). The
motorcycle (with rider) has a mass of 350 kg.
Calculate and compare the momentum of the
car and motorcycle.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

You are asked for momentum.

You are given masses and velocities.
Use: p = m v
Solve for car: p = (1,300 kg) (13.5 m/s) = 17,550
kg m/s
Solve for cycle: p = (350 kg) (30 m/s) = 10,500
kg m/s

Conservation of Momentum
The law of conservation of momentum
states when a system of interacting
objects is not influenced by outside
forces (like friction), the total
momentum of the system cannot
Ifchange.
you throw a rock forward
from a skateboard, you will
move backward in response.

Conservation of Momentum

Collisions in One Dimension

A collision occurs when two or more
objects hit each other.
During a collision, momentum is
transferred from one object to another.
Collisions can be elastic
or inelastic.

Collisions

Elastic collisions
Two 0.165 kg billiard balls roll toward
each other and collide head-on.
Initially, the 5-ball has a velocity of 0.5
m/s.
The 10-ball has an initial velocity of -0.7
m/s.
The collision is elastic and the 10-ball
rebounds with a velocity of 0.4 m/s,
reversing its direction.
What is the velocity of the 5-ball after
the collision?

Elastic
collisions

1.

You are asked for 10-balls velocity after collision.

2.

You are given mass, initial velocities, 5-balls final velocity.

3.

Diagram the motion, use m1v1 + m2v2 = m1v3 + m2v4

4.

Solve for V3 : (0.165 kg)(0.5 m/s) + (0.165 kg) (-0.7 kg)=

(0.165 kg) v3 + (0.165 kg) (0.4 m/s)

5.

V3 = -0.6 m/s

Inelastic collisions
A train car moving to the right at 10
m/s collides with a parked train car.
They stick together and roll along
the track.
If the moving car has a mass of
8,000 kg and the parked car has a
mass of 2,000 kg, what is their
combined velocity after the
collision?

1.

You are asked for the final velocity.

2.

You are given masses, and initial velocity of

moving train car.

Inelastic collisions
3.

Diagram the problem, use m1v1 + m2v2 = (m1v1

+m2v2) v3

4.

Solve for v3= (8,000 kg)(10 m/s) + (2,000 kg)(0

m/s)
(8,000 + 2,000 kg)
v3= 8 m/s
The train cars moving together to right at 8
m/s.

Collisions in 2 and 3 Dimensions

Most real-life collisions do not occur in
one dimension.
In a two or three-dimensional collision,
objects move at angles to each other
before or after they collide.
In order to analyze two-dimensional
collisions you need to look at each
dimension separately.
Momentum is conserved separately in

Collisions in 2 and 3 Dimensions

Force is the Rate of Change of

Momentum
Investigation Key
Question:
How are force and
momentum related?

Force is the Rate of Change of

Momentum
Momentum changes
when a net force is
applied.
The inverse is also
true:
If momentum
changes, forces are
created.
If momentum changes

Force and Momentum Change

The relationship between force and
motion follows directly from
Newton's second law.

Force (N)

F = p
t

Change in time (sec)

Change in
momentum
(kg m/sec)

Calculating force
Starting at rest, an 1,800 kg rocket takes off,
ejecting 100 kg of fuel per second out of its
nozzle at a speed of 2,500 m/sec. Calculate the
force on the rocket from the change in
momentum of the fuel.

1.

You are asked for force exerted on rocket.

2.

You are given rate of fuel ejection and speed of

rocket

3.

Use F = t

4.

Solve: = (100 kg) (-25,000 kg m/s) (1s) = 25,000 N

Impulse
The product of a force
and the time the force
acts is called the
impulse.
Impulse is a way to
measure a change in
momentum because it
is not always possible
to calculate force and
time individually since
collisions happen so

Stopping
Time

F t =Ft

Imagine a car hitting a wall and coming to rest. The force on the car due to the
wall is large (big F ), but that force only acts for a small amount of time (little
t ). Now imagine the same car moving at the same speed but this time hitting a
giant haystack and coming to rest. The force on the car is much smaller now
(little F ), but it acts for a much longer time (big t ). In each case the impulse
involved is the same since the change in momentum of the car is the same.
Any net force, no matter how small, can bring an object to rest if it has enough
time. A pole vaulter can fall from a great height without getting hurt because
the mat applies a smaller force over a longer period of time than the ground
alone would.

Force and Momentum Change

To find the impulse, you
rearrange the momentum form
of the second law.
Impulse (Nsec)

F t =
p

Change in
momentum
(kgm/sec)

Impulse can be expressed in

kgm/sec (momentum units)
or in Nsec.

Impulse - Momentum
A 1.3 kg ball is coming straight at a 75 kg soccer player at 13 m/s who kicks it
Example
in the exact opposite direction at 22 m/s with an average force of 1200 N.
How long are his foot and the ball in contact?

answer: Well use Fnet t = p. Since the ball

changes direction, p = m v = m (vf - v0)
= 1.3 [22 - (-13)] = (1.3 kg) (35 m/s)
= 45.5 kg m /s. Thus, t = 45.5 / 1200
= 0.0379 s, which is just under 40 ms.
During this contact time the ball compresses substantially and then
decompresses. This happens too quickly for us to see, though. This
compression occurs in many cases, such as hitting a baseball or golf ball.

Jet Engines
Nearly all modern airplanes use jet propulsion to fly. Jet
engines and rockets work because of conservation of
linear momentum.
A rocket engine uses the same principles as a jet,
except that in space, there is no oxygen.
Most rockets have to carry so much oxygen and fuel
that the payload of people or satellites is usually less
than 5 percent of the total mass of the rocket at launch.

Sample Problem
An electron (m= 9.1 x10-31 kg) moving at
2.18 x 106 m/s (as if it were in a Bohr orbit in
the H atom).

Sample Problem
There are 20 students in a school bus
service with a mass of 2500 kg moving with a
speed of 4.25 m/s. (a) What is the
momentum of the bus and its passenger if
the average mass of a student is 125 kg? (b)
If 8 students get off from the bus, what is the
momentum of the bus with its passengers if it
continues to move with the same speed?

Sample Problem
How fast must Superman fly to have the
same momentum as a 2500 kg train moving
at 4.5 m/s in the same direction? Assume
that the mass of Superman is 120 kg.

Sample Problem
A system is made up of three bodies with
their respective velocities: body A of mass 1.5
kg and moving East at 2.0 m/s; body B of
mass 2.0 kg moving west at 3.0 m/s and
body C of mass 5.2 kg moving west at 2.5
m/s. What is the momentum of the system?

Sample Problem
If a 5 kg object experiences a 10N force for
a 0.10 sec then, what is the momentum
change of the object?

Sample Problem
A hockey player applies an average force
of 80 N to a 0.25 kg hockey puck for a time of
0.10 seconds. Determine the impulse
experienced by the hockey puck.

Sample Problem
What is the momentum of a system of two
particles with these masses and velocities:
3.75 kg moving North at 5.6 m/s and 4.2 kg
moving Northwest at 2.3 m/s?

Sample Problem
A 0.02 kg ball moving to the right at 0.25
m/s makes an elastic head-on collision with a
0.04 kg ball moving to the left at 0.15 m/s.
After the collision, the smaller ball moves to
the left at 0.16 m/s. What is the velocity of the
0.04 kg ball after collision?

Sample Problem
A 0.25 kg arrow with a velocity of 15 m/s to
the east strikes and pierces the bulls eye of a
7.0 kg target. What is the final velocity of the
combined mass