TOPIC 7

Linear Momentum 1
Lecture Outline
7.1 MOMENTUM
7.2 IMPULSE
7.1 MOMENTUM
• Product of mass and velocity.
• Momentum is a vector symbolized by the symbol p, and is
defined as
[Unit: kg m/s]

• Direction of momentum is the same as direction of velocity.

• Faster moving object have higher momentum than slower
moving object even when they has a same mass.

• Two objects with different mass moving at same speed, object

with higher mass will have higher momentum.
• To change the momentum of an object you
need force, whether to increase, decrease of
change the direction of the momentum
• Originally Newton’s Second Law is stated in
term of momentum:
“The rate of change of momentum of object is
equal to the net force applied to it”
 7.2 IMPULSE
• Changing of an object’s momentum requires the continuous
application of a force over period of time , leading to the
definition of impulse.
• If a constant force acts on an object, the Impulse delivered to the
•  object over a time interval is given by

SI unit: kg.m/s OR Ns
• Impulse of the force acting of an objects =
change in momentum of that object.

Impulse  Ft  p
 Impulsive Force, F

• Executed in very short amount of time.

• Example: force to hit baseball & force to hit
badminton shuttle.
You can see that a change in momentum (impulse) depends on
two factors… force and time interval.
To change an object’s momentum, think of the following
situations:
1. You could apply a medium force over a medium time
interval.
F Δt = Δp
2. You could apply a big force over a small time interval and
get the same impulse as in (1).

F Δt = Δp
3. Or, you could apply a small force over a long time interval
and still get the same impulse.

F Δt = Δp
During a collision,
objects are
deformed due to
the large forces
involved.
 EXAMPLE
This explains why you would want to come to a stop by
hitting a haystack instead of a brick wall with your car.
In each case the impulse is the same (your mass stays the
same, your Δv stays the same).
When you hit the brick wall…
F Δt = Δp
Youch! All that force on your body is going to hurt! The
impulse happened in a very short time period.
When you hit the haystack…
F Δt = Δp
Not much force at all, since the impulse is spread out over
a long time period!
 Example 1: Washing a car: momentum change
and force.
Water leaves a hose at a rate of 1.5 kg/s with a speed of 20
m/s and is aimed at the side of a car, which stops it. (That
is, we ignore any splashing back.) What is the force
exerted by the water on the car? (30 N)
Example 2: Karate Blow
• Estimate the impulse and the average force
delivered by a karate blow that breaks a board a
few cm thick. Assume the hand moves at roughly
10 m/s when it hits the board. The hand’s mass
should probably include part of the arm, and we
take it roughly m = 1 kg. The hand is brought to
the rest over the distance of roughly 1 cm. (10
kg.m/s, 5 kN)
Example 3: Crash test
In a crash test, a car of mass 1500 kg collides with a wall and
rebounds. The initial and final velocities of the car are vi =
-15.0 m/s and vf= 2.6 m/s, respectively. If the collision lasts
for 0.150 s, find
a. The impulse delivered to the car due to the collision
[26400 kgms-1]

b. The size of the average force exerted on the car

[1.76 x 10^5 N]
 TOPIC 7

Linear Momentum 2
 Lecture Outline
7.3 PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION
OF MOMENTUM
7.4 COLLISION OF OBJECTS IN 1D
 7.3 CONSERVATION OF
MOMENTUM
• In certain circumstances, momentum is a conserved
quantities.
• Two objects in collision with each other, the total
momentum of these objects are conserved.
• During a collision, measurements show that the total
momentum does not change:
• Conservation of momentum can
also be derived from Newton’s
laws.
• A collision takes a short enough
time that we can ignore
external forces.
• Since the internal forces are equal
and opposite, the total

momentum is constant.
• This is not only true for only two colliding objects, but also true
for more than two objects, as long as the total external force is
zero

Law of conservation of momentum

“when the net external force on a system of objects is zero,
the total momentum of the system remains constant”

Equivalently:
“The total momentum of an isolated system of objects
remains constant”
Example 4: Railroad cars collide: momentum conserved.

A 10,000-kg railroad car, A, traveling at a speed of 24.0 m/s

strikes an identical car, B, at rest. If the cars lock together
as a result of the collision, what is their common speed
immediately after the collision?
 Example 5: Rifle recoil.
Calculate the recoil velocity of a 5.0-kg rifle that
shoots a 0.020-kg bullet at a speed of 620 m/s.
 7.4 CONSERVATION OF ENERGY AND
MOMENTUM IN COLLISIONS (COLLISION
OF OBJECTS IN 1D)
● Momentum is conserved in
all collisions.
● Collisions in which kinetic
energy is conserved as well
are called elastic collisions,
and those in which it is not
are called inelastic.
 Elastic Collisions
Momentum is conserved in a collision. Total energy
is also conserved but the kinetic energy is also
conserved. It can be converted to other forms such as
sound, work done during plastic deformation, etc.

In an elastic collision:
Kinetic energy is conserved
Linear momentum is conserved
Energy is conserved
Perfectly elastic collision of two particles
(Particles bounce off each other without loss of energy.

Momentum is conserved:
   
m1v1i  m2 v2i  m1v1 f  m2 v2 f
Energy is conserved:
1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
m1v1i  m2 v2i  m1v1 f  m2 v2 f
2 2 2 2
By plugging one equation into the
other, we can also derive:

   
v1i  v1 f  v2i  v2 f
 Inelastic Collisions
With inelastic collisions, some of the initial kinetic energy is
lost to thermal or potential energy. Kinetic energy may also
be gained during explosions, as there is the addition of
chemical or nuclear energy.

A completely inelastic collision is one in which the objects

stick together afterward, so there is only one final velocity.
In an inelastic collision:
Kinetic energy is not conserved
Linear momentum is conserved
Energy is conserved
 Perfectly inelastic collision of two particles
(Particles stick together)
 
pi  p f Momentum is conserved

  
m1v1i  m2 v2i  (m1  m2 )v f
Notice that p and v are vectors
and, thus have a direction (+/-)

Ki  Eloss  K f
There is a loss in
1 2 1 2 1 2
m1v1i  m2v2i  ( m1  m2 )v f  Eloss energy, Eloss
2 2 2
 Example 6: Railroad cars again.
A 10,000-kg railroad car, A, traveling at a speed of 24.0
m/s strikes an identical car, B, at rest. If the cars lock
together as a result of the collision, how much of the
initial kinetic energy is transformed to thermal or other
forms of energy?

Before collision

After collision
 Example 7: Ballistic pendulum.
The ballistic pendulum is a device used to
measure the speed of a projectile, such as a
bullet. The projectile, of mass m, is fired into a
large block of mass M, which is suspended like
a pendulum. As a result of the collision, the
pendulum and projectile together swing up to
a maximum height h. Determine the
relationship between the initial horizontal
speed of the projectile, v, and the maximum
height h.
 Example 8: A truck versus a
Compact
•A pickup truck with mass 1.80 x 10³ kg is travelling
eastbound at +15.0 m/s, while a compact car with mass
9.00 x 10² kg is travelling westbound at -15.0 m/s. The
vehicles collide head-on becoming entangled.
a. Find the speed of the entagled vehicles after the
collision
b. Find the change in the velocity of each vehicle.
c. Find the change in kinetic energy of the system
consisting of both vehicle.
 Concept Test A Inelastic Collisions I
1) 10 m/s
A box slides with initial velocity 10 m/s on
2) 20 m/s
a frictionless surface and collides
3) 0 m/s
inelastically with an identical box. The
4) 15 m/s
boxes stick together after the collision.
5) 5 m/s
What is the final velocity?

vi
M M

vf
M M
 Concept Test A Inelastic Collisions I
1) 10 m/s
A box slides with initial velocity 10 m/s on
2) 20 m/s
a frictionless surface and collides
3) 0 m/s
inelastically with an identical box. The
4) 15 m/s
boxes stick together after the collision.
5) 5 m/s
What is the final velocity?

The initial momentum is:

M vi = (10) M vi
M M
The final momentum must be the same!!

The final momentum is: vf

M M
Mtot vf = (2M) vf = (2M) (5)
 Concept Test B Recoil Speed I
(1) 2 m/s
Amy (150 lbs) and Gwen (50 lbs) are
(2) 6 m/s
standing on slippery ice and push off
(3) 9 m/s
each other. If Amy slides at 6 m/s,
(4) 12 m/s
what speed does Gwen have? (5) 18 m/s

150 lbs 50 lbs

 ConcepTest B Recoil Speed I
(1) 2 m/s
Amy (150 lbs) and Gwen (50 lbs) are
(2) 6 m/s
standing on slippery ice and push off
(3) 9 m/s
each other. If Amy slides at 6 m/s,
(4) 12 m/s
what speed does Gwen have? (5) 18 m/s

The initial momentum is zero,

so the momenta of Amy and
Gwen must be equal and
opposite. Since p = mv,
then if Amy has 3 times
more mass, we see that
150 lbs 50 lbs
Gwen must have 3 times
more speed.
 Finish!
Linear momentum =)