ES 2:

PHYSICS FOR
ENGINEERS

ENGR. JONAR T. MONTALBAN ME, MP.

Topics:
Linear Momentum & Impulse

Jens Martensson
Collisions

Ballistic Pendulum

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Linear Momentum
• Momentum – is a property related to an
object’s motion and mass. It is the
tendency of an object to continue moving
at constant velocity and thereby
encountering difficulty in bringing the

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object to rest.
• The linear momentum p is defined
quantitatively as the product of its mass m
and velocity v.

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Impulse
• Impulse – is the product of a force acting on
an object and the time that the force acts.
• An impulse causes the object’s momentum to
change.

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Conservation of Linear Momentum
• The total linear momentum of a system is conserved if there is no
additional external force present before, after and during collision.
The total linear momentum of a system remains constant.

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Adding these two equations

From Newton’s Third Law

Hence,

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Collisions
• When two bodies collide, internal forces are
external during the short time of impact. These
forces may be conservative or dissipative.
• If the forces are conservative, the collision is
said to be elastic. In an elastic collision, the

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total energy (kinetic energy) is conserved. A
collision is inelastic if total energy is not
conserved.

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Three Categories of
Collisions
• Perfectly elastic collision – when deformation
maybe resolved in a very relatively short time
interval.

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• Partly elastic – when deformation is resolved
in a longer time interval or separation of
colliding bodies is not abrupt.
• Inelastic collision – deformation may be
permanent that the bodies in collision may
stick together and travels together with
common velocity.

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Coefficient of
Restitution (e)
• ; perfectly inelastic collision
• ; perfectly elastic collision
• ; partly elastic collision

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Note: e for partly elastic collision is equal to the
ratio between relative speeds.

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Ballistic Pendulum
• used to measure velocity of bullets.

• A bullet with mass (m) and unknown velocity (v) is fired

to hit a hanging block of mass (M). The block with
embedded bullet swings and rises to a height (h).

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• From conservation of momentum,

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Problem Solving
b)

Problem 1
• A 2200 kg car at 35m/s strikes a stationary 1500 kg
car and the two locked bumpers.
a) What is their final common velocity just after
collision?
b) What percentage of the initial energy is dissipated

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in the collision?

Solution:
a)
where
Hence, 59.5% of initial energy remains kinetic energy
40.5% of initial energy was dissipated during
collision

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Problem Solving Solution:
a) eq. 1
Problem 2
• Suppose that in the first example, the cars have
spring loaded bumpers, so that collision is perfectly
elastic.
a) What is the velocity of each car after the collision?
eq. 2
b) What are the final momenta and energies?

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b) final energies

final momenta

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Problem Solving
Problem 3
• A 200g block moves to the right at a speed of 100
cm/s and meets a 400g block moving to the left
with a speed of 80 cm/s. Find the final velocity of
each block if the collision is elastic.
Solution:

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a) eq. 1

eq. 2

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Problem Solving
Problem 4
• A body of mass 100g with a velocity of 10 cm/s b)
hits another identical body at rest, and the two
recoil as shown. Find U1 and U2.

Solution:

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a) x-component

c) KE total

y-component

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Problem Solving
Problem 5
• A bullet weighing 0.02lbs is fired with a nozzle
velocity V1 = 2700 ft/s into a ballistic pendulum
weighing 20lbs. Find the maximum height through
which it rises.
Solution:

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Note:

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Problem Solving
Problem 6
• A 1.5kg ball moving at 2.0 m/s to the right collides head on with a 1.0kg ball moving at 3.0 m/s to the left. The
coefficient of restitution is 0.70. Find the speed and direction of the balls after collision.
Solution:
eq.1

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eq.2

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 Large image

QUESTIONS
Seatwork 5
• A 60 g mass with a horizontal velocity of 50 cm/s collides with an 85 g mass at rest. After collision,
the 60 g mass travel 30° below the horizontal and the 85 g mass travel 45° above the horizontal. Find
the speed of each mass after impact.

• A) What is the momentum of a 12000 kg truck whose velocity is 50 m/s?

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B) What velocity must a 6000 kg truck attain in order to have the same momentum?
C) What velocity must it attain to have the same kinetic energy?

• A steel ball of mass 0.514 kg is fastened to a cord 68.7 cm long and is released when the cord is
horizontal. At the bottom of its path, the ball strikes a 2.63 kg steel block initially at rest on a
frictionless surface. The collision is elastic. Find
a) the speed of the ball
b) the speed of the block, both just after collision.

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 “Reject your sense of injury and the
injury itself disappears.”

Thank
- Marcus Aurelius

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