Week 4: Conservation of Momentum

Conservation of Momentum

An external force is always required to make an object accelerate. The same is true for momentum.
There will be no change in momentum if there is no external force applied.

The law of conservation of momentum states that:

when two objects in an isolated system collide, the total momentum of the objects before the collision
is equal to the total momentum of the objects after the
collision.

Figure 1 shows a boy and a girl on skateboards who are initially at rest and then push each other so that
they start to move in opposite directions.

The boy and the girl make up a system – a collection of objects that affect one another. Based on
Newton’s Third Law, the force that the girl exerts on the boy and the force that makes her move on the
other direction are of equal magnitude but of opposite directions. It tells us that since there is no
external force acting on the boy-girl system, the total momentum of the system remains the same. The
momentum gained by the girl is of equal magnitude but opposite in direction to the momentum gained
by the boy. Since no momentum is gained or lost, we say that momentum is conserved.

In this case, the Law of Conservation of Momentum is represented by the equation:

Mathematically;
Eq. 1: m1v1+m2v2=(m1+m2) v′

Where:
m1 = mass of the first object in kilogram (kg);
v1 = velocity of the first object before collision in meter per second (m/s);
m2 = mass of the second object in kilogram (kg);
v2 = velocity of the second object before collision in meter per sec (m/s); and
v′ = velocity of the combined object after collision in meter per sec (m/s)

Sample Problem:

Two ice skaters stand together. They “push off” and travel directly away from each other, the boy
with a velocity of 1.50 m/s. If the boy weighs 735 N and the girl, 490 N, what is the girl’s velocity after
they push off? (Consider the ice to be frictionless).

Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

The Law of Conservation of Momentum states that “in an isolated system, the total momentum of the
system before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the system after the collision”.
Collision here refers to an encounter between two objects resulting in the exchange of impulse and
momentum. It is important to note that kinetic energy may be lost during collisions when 1) it is
converted to heat energy, sound, light, etc. and 2) it causes damage or deformation.

The 2 types of collision based on the changes in the total kinetic energy are:
1) Elastic collision – colliding objects bounce off; the total kinetic energy of the system does not change.
An example is Newton’s cradle in Figure 2a below.
2) Inelastic collision – the total kinetic energy of the system changes (converted to other forms of
energy). The car crash illustrated in Figure 2b is an example. *If objects stick together after collision, it is
said to be perfectly inelastic.