CHAPTER 8

Impulse, Momentum and

Center of Mass
Goals for Chapter 8

• To learn the meaning of the momentum of a particle

and how an impulse causes it to change
• To learn how to use the conservation of momentum
• To learn the definition of the center of mass of a
system and what determines how it moves
Linear Momentum and Impulse
Let us consider Newton’s second law, when a net force 𝐹 acts on a
particle of mass m,

𝑑𝑣
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 𝑎= ,
𝑑𝑡
Newton’s
second law
𝑑𝑣 𝑑(𝑚𝑣) 𝑑𝑃
𝐹=m = =
𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡 𝑑𝑡

Here the term 𝑷 = 𝒎𝒗 is called Linear Momentum

In the SI system, 𝑷 has the units kg.m/s. In Cartesian coordinates, this equation
is equivalent to the following component equations:
 (if mass m is constant)

Now, we derive the linear impulse-momentum theorem,

Integrating both sides of equation;

∆𝑃 = 𝑃𝑓 − 𝑃𝑖 = 𝐹 (𝑡𝑓 − 𝑡𝑖 )

𝐼 = ∆𝑃 = 𝐹 ∆𝑡 𝐼 is called Impulse (kg.m/s or N.s).

𝐹 is the average force exerted on

∆𝑃
𝐹= the particle.
∆𝑡
Conservation of Linear Momentum
For an isolated system of two particles with masses
𝑚1 and 𝑚2 and moving with velocities 𝑣1 and 𝑣2 at
an instant of time, Newton’s third law, action-
reaction, says

𝑑(𝑃1 + 𝑃2 ) 𝑃1 + 𝑃2 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡
=0
𝑑𝑡
𝑃1 + 𝑃2 = 𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2 = 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑡 : for an isolated system this
sum is conserved

𝑃1𝑖 + 𝑃2𝑖 =𝑃1𝑓 + 𝑃2𝑓

Conservation of Linear
Momentum
𝑚1 𝑣1𝑖 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑖 = 𝑚1 𝑣1𝑓 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑓
Example:
In a particular crash test, a car of mass 1 500 kg
collides with a wall. The initial and final velocities
of the car are 𝑣𝑖 = −15𝑖 m/s and 𝑣𝑓 = 2.6 𝑖 m/s,
respectively. If the collision lasts for 0.150 s, find
the impulse caused by the collision and the
average force exerted on the car.

Solution:
The initial and final momenta of the car are ;
Hence, the impulse is equal to

The average force exerted by the wall on the car is

Example:
A 60-kg archer stands at rest on frictionless
ice and fires a 0.50-kg arrow horizontally at 50
m/s. With what velocity does the archer move
across the ice after firing the arrow?

Solution:
The total horizontal momentum of the system
before the arrow is fired is zero.

𝑃𝑖 = 𝑚1 𝑣1𝑖 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑖 =0
Thus,
𝑃𝑓 = 𝑚1 𝑣1𝑓 + 𝑚2 𝑣2𝑓 =0
Example:
A golf ball of mass 50 g is struck with a club. Assuming that the ball travels at
maximum distance of 200 m, estimate the magnitude of the impulse caused by
the collision.
Solution:

For the maximum range 𝜃 = 45°

Example:
A billiard ball of mass 𝑚 = 170 𝑔 has velocity components 𝑣𝑥 = 𝑣𝑦 = 4m/s. The
ball bounces back from a table’s edge with the same speed and angle after being
in contact with the edge for 0.2 𝑠. Assume that friction and rotational motion are
negligible. (a) What is the change in the horizontal and vertical components of the
ball’s momentum? (b) What is the average force exerted on the ball by the wall?

Solution: (a)

(b)
Example:
A rocket is fired vertically upward. At the instant it reaches an altitude of 1 000 m
and a speed of 300 m/s, it explodes into three fragments having equal mass. One
fragment continues to move upward with a speed of 450 m/s following the
explosion. The second fragment has a speed of 240 m/s and is moving east right
after the explosion. What is the velocity of the third fragment right after the
explosion?

Solution:
Before the explosion,

After the explosion,

Center of Mass of System of Particles, Coordinates
The center of mass (CM) of a two-particle system is at the position 𝑋𝐶𝑀
and defined as follows:

For a system consisting of n particles, where n could be very large, center

of mass coordinates

𝑚𝑖 = 𝑀 : total mass of the system

If the particles are spread out in three dimensions and 𝑥𝑖 , 𝑦𝑖 , and 𝑧𝑖
are the coordinates of the 𝑖 𝑡ℎ particle of mass 𝑚𝑖 and position vector
𝑟𝑖 = 𝑥𝑖 𝑖 + 𝑦𝑖 𝑗 + 𝑧𝑖 𝑘 , then we define the coordinates of the CM as:

The position vector of the CM can be simplified as:

For an extended rigid object, the center of mass coordintes are

Example:

Solution:

Particles are located on the 𝑥 − 𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑠, so 𝑌𝐶𝑀 = 0 , 𝑍𝐶𝑀 = 0

𝑚1 𝑥1 + 𝑚2 𝑥2 2 × 0.2 + 10 × 0.6
𝑋𝐶𝑀 = = = 0.533 𝑚 = 53.3 𝑐𝑚
𝑚1 + 𝑚2 2 + 10
Example:

A system consists of three particles

located as shown in figure. Find the
center of mass of the system. Let
𝑚1 = 𝑚2 = 1 𝑘𝑔, 𝑚3 = 2 𝑘𝑔

Solution:
The position vector to the center of mass measured from the origin is
therefore
Example:
Three odd-shaped blocks of chocolate have the following masses and center-of-
mass coordinates: (1) 0.3kg, (0.2 m, 0.3 m); (2) 0.4kg, (0.1 m, -0.4 m);
(3) 0.2 kg, (-0.3 m, 0.6 m). Find the coordinates of the center of mass of the
system of three chocolate blocks.

Solution:
Example:
A horizontal rod has a mass M and length L. Find the location of its center of
mass from its left end: (a) if the rod has a uniform mass per unit length λ, and
(b) if the rod is non-uniform, namely it has a mass per unit length λ that
increases linearly from its left end according to the relation 𝜆 = 𝛼𝑥, where α
is a constant.

Solution:
(a)

For a uniform rod λ = M/L ; M= λ L . If

we divide the rod into infinitesimal
elements of length dx, then the mass
of each element is dm = λ dx.
(b) In this case, λ is not a constant. Therefore,

We can eliminate α by writing M in terms of α and L as follows:

Substituting this result into the expression of 𝑥𝐶𝑀 , we get:

Motion of a System of Particles

Assuming the total mass M remains constant for a system of particles,

the velocity of the center of mass of the system is described as:

𝑑𝑟𝐶𝑀 𝑖 𝑚𝑖 𝑉𝑖
𝑉𝐶𝑀 = =
𝑑𝑡 𝑀

where 𝑉𝑖 is the velocity of the 𝑖 𝑡ℎ particle.

Similarly, the acceleration of the center of mass of the system is,

𝑑𝑉𝐶𝑀 𝑖 𝑚𝑖 𝑎𝑖
𝑎𝐶𝑀 = =
𝑑𝑡 𝑀

where 𝑎𝑖 is the acceleration of the 𝑖 𝑡ℎ particle.

Example:
A 2.0 – kg particle has a velocity 𝑣1 = 2.0 𝑖 − 3.0 𝑗 m/s, and a 3-kg
particle has a velocity 𝑣2 = 1.0 𝑖 − 6.0 𝑗 m/s. Find (a) the center of
mass velocity and (b) the total momentum of the system.
Solution:

𝑖 𝑚𝑖 𝑉𝑖 𝑚1 𝑣1 +𝑚2 𝑣2
(a) 𝑉𝐶𝑀 = =
𝑀 𝑚1 +𝑚2

2× 2.0 𝑖−3.0 𝑗 +3× 1.0 𝑖−6.0 𝑗

= = 1.4 𝑖 + 2.4 𝑗 m/s
2+3

(b) 𝑃𝑡𝑜𝑡 = 𝑀𝑉𝐶𝑀 = 𝑚1 𝑣1 + 𝑚2 𝑣2 = 7 𝑖 + 12 𝑗 kg. m/s