Ch.

4 Force and momentum - Revision

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Mahmoud Bahig 01010434930 1

Ch.4 Force and momentum - Revision

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hi
Ba
d
ou
m
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Mahmoud Bahig 01010434930 2

Ch.4 Force and momentum - Revision

g
hi
Ba
d
ou
m
ah
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Mahmoud Bahig 01010434930 3

Ch.4 Force and momentum - Revision

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Ba
d
ou
m
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Mahmoud Bahig 01010434930 4

Ch.4 Force and momentum - Revision

4 .3 Con ser v ati on of mo men t um

L e ar n i n g o bj ec tive s :
Newton’s third law of motion

➔ Consider whether momentum

When two objects interact, they exert

is ever lost in a collision.

equal and opposite forces on each other.

➔ Dene conser vation of

In other words, if object A exerts a force on object B, there must be an

momentum.

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equal and opposite force acting on object A due to object B. For example,

➔ State the condition that must

• the Earth exerts a force due to gravity on an object which exerts an

be satised if the momentum

equal and opposite force on the Earth

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of a system is conserved.

• a jet engine exerts a force on hot gas in the engine to expel the

Specication reference: 3.2.6

gas – the gas being expelled exerts an equal and opposite force on

the engine.

Ho we v e r, it is w or t h rem em ber in g t ha t two f o rce s mu s t be of th e

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s a me typ e, an d ac t in g on dif fer en t o bjec t s, f or th e f o r ce s to be

co nsi d e re d a f o rc e pa ir. For ex a mple , w eig ht an d n or mal r eac t i on

w oul d no t c o ns ti t ut e a fo rc e p air in t his c ase. (S e e Figu r e 1 f or

force on

fur the r e x am ple s.)

plant pot

from table

The principle of conservation of momentum

force on
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When an object is acted on by a resultant force, its momentum changes.
table from

plant pot If there is no change of its momentum, there can be no resultant

force on the object. Now consider several objects which interact with

each other. If no external resultant force acts on the objects, the total
ou
b

momentum does not change. However, interactions between the objects

can transfer momentum between them. But the total momentum does

not change.

force force

on on

The principle of conservation of momentum states that for a

wall person
m

system of interacting objects, the total momentum remains

constant, provided no external resultant force acts on the system.

Consider two objects that collide with each other then separate. As a

result, the momentum of each object changes. They exert equal and
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opposite forces on each other when they are in contact. So the change

of momentum of one object is equal and opposite to the change of

momentum of the other object. In other words, if one object gains

momentum, the other object loses an equal amount of momentum.

force on

hammer
So the total amount of momentum is unchanged.

from nail
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Let’s look in detail at the example of two snooker balls A and B in

collision, as shown in Figure 2 on the next page.

force on

The impact force F on ball A due to ball B changes the velocity of

nail from
1

hammer
A from u to v in time t
A A

m v – m u
A A A A

Therefore, F = , where t = the time of contact between

1

A and B, and m = the mass of ball A.

A

The impact force F on ball B due to ball A changes the velocity of B

2

from u to v in time t
B B

▲ Figure 1 Examples of Newton’s

third law

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