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UNIT 5: Linear Momentum

5.1) Linear Momentum and Impulse

• The linear momentum of a particle or an object that can be modeled as a particle of mass m
moving with a velocity ~v is defined to be the product of the mass and velocity of the particle:
p~ ≡ m~v
• Because velocity is a vector quantity, momentum is also a vector quantity. It’s SI unit is kg · m/s.
If a particle is moving in an arbitrary direction, p~ must have three components written as
px = mvx py = mvy pz = mvz
• Total Momentum p~ of any number of particles is: p~ = p~1 + p~2 + p~3 + .....
• Using Newton’s second law of motion, we can relate the linear momentum of a particle to the
resultant force acting on the particle.
P~
F = m~a = m d~v dt
• In Newton’s second law, the mass m is assumed to be constant. Therefore, we can bring m inside
the derivative operation to give us
P~ d(m~v) d~
p
F = dt = dt
⇒ the time rate of change of the linear momentum of a particle is equal to the net
force acting on the particle.
~ is net force multiplied by the time interval during which the force acts.
• Impulse of a force, I,
dI~ = d~
p = F~ dt
P

We can integrate the above expression to find the change in the momentum of a particle when the
force acts over some time interval. If the momentum of the particle changes from p~i at time ti to p~f
at time tf , integrating the above expression gives
R tf P
p = p~f − p~i =
∆~ ti
F~ dt
To evaluate the integral, we need to know how the net force varies with time. The quantity on the
P~
right side of this equation is a vector called the impulse of the net force F acting on a particle
over the time interval ∆t = tf − ti :
R tf P
I~ = ti
F~ dt...........Impulse of a force
• Combining the last two equations gives us the impulse-momentum theorem: ”the change
in the momentum of a particle is equal to the impulse of the net force acting on the
particle:”
p = I~
∆~
This statement is equivalent to Newton’s second law. When we say that an impulse is given to a
particle, we mean that momentum is transferred from an external agent to that particle.
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5.2) Conservation of Momentum

States that: The total momentum of a system is constant whenever the vector sum of
the external forces on the system is zero. In particular, the total momentum of an
isolated system is constant. Mathematically the law may be restated as
P~
If F = 0, ⇒ ∆~
p=0 ⇒ p~f = p~i = constant....momentum is conserved!
Essential point is that internal forces cannot change the total momentum of a system.
The law of conservation of momentum is valid even when the internal forces are not conservative;
by contrast, mechanical energy is conserved only when the internal forces are conservative.
• If two bodies collide or push each other apart and no forces act except for each
one pushing on the other, the total momentum of the two bodies does not change or
momentum is conserved.
Consider the collision that two beads of masses m1 and m2 moving in opposite directions on a
frictionless horizontal floor undergo while they meet. Let v1i and v2i be their respective velocities
just before collision and v1f and v2f be their velocities just after collision as shown Figure 1.

The total linear momentum of these beads before and after collision are:
p~i = m1~v1i + m2~v2i and p~f = m1~v1f + m2~v2f
The law of conservation of momentum for these two bead system mathematically is expressed as
m1~v1i + m2~v2i = m1~v1f + m2~v2f
5.3 Elastic Collision in 1-dimension
Elastic Collision is one in which the total kinetic energy (as well as the total momentum)
of the system is the same before and after the collision.
Elastic collisions occur when the interaction forces between the objects are conservative.
Truly elastic collisions occur between atomic and subatomic particles.
If the collision of the beads shown in Figure 1 is elastic, we will have two equations from the two
conservation laws:
• momentum is conserved: m1~v1i + m2~v2i = m1~v1f + m2~v2f
1
• kinetic energy is conserved: 2
2 m1 v1i + 12 m2 v2i
2
= 12 m1 v1f
2
+ 12 m2 v2f
2

5.4 Inelastic collision in 1-dimension

Inelastic collision-is one in which the total kinetic energy of the system is not the same
before and after the collision (even though the momentum of the system is conserved).
Inelastic collisions are of two types. When the colliding objects stick together after the collision, as
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happens when a meteorite collides with the Earth,the collision is called perfectly inelastic. When
the colliding objects do not stick together, but some kinetic energy is lost, as in the case of a rubber
ball colliding with a hard surface, the collision is called inelastic(with no modifying adverb). When
the rubber ball collides with the hard surface, some of the kinetic energy of the ball is lost when the
ball is deformed while it is in contact with the surface.
If the collision of the beads shown in Figure 1 is perfectly inelastic, the beads stick together and
move with same velocity after collision. Conservation of momentum gives this common velocity.
m1 ~
v1i +m2 ~
v2i
m1~v1i + m2~v2i = m1~v + m2~v = (m1 + m2 )~v ⇒ ~v = (m1 +m2 )
Head-on collision- is a collision in one dimension, where the objects rebound on straight line paths
that coincide with the coincide direction of motion.
Glancing collision- is a collision in two dimensions, where the objects rebound in the same plane
but not necessarily the same direction as the original motion.
5.5. Collisions in Two Dimensions
In the previous section we showed that the momentum of a system of two particles is conserved when
the system is isolated. For any collision of two particles, this result implies that the momentum in
each of the directions x, y, and z is conserved. An important subset of collisions takes place in a
plane. The game of billiards is a familiar example involving multiple collisions of objects moving on
a two-dimensional surface. For such two-dimensional collisions, we obtain two component equations
for conservation of momentum:
m1 v1ix + m2 v2ix = m1 v1f x + m2 v2f x
m1 v1iy + m2 v2iy = m1 v1f y + m2 v2f y
where the three subscripts on the velocity components in these equations represent, respectively, the
identification of the object (1, 2), initial and final values (i, f ), and the velocity component (x, y).
Let us consider a specific two-dimensional problem in which particle 1 of mass m1 collides with
particle 2 of mass m2 initially at rest as in Figure 2. After the collision (Figure 2b), particle 1 moves
at an angle θ with respect to the horizontal and particle 2 moves at an angle φ with respect to the
horizontal. This event is called a glancing collision. Applying the law of conservation of momentum
in component form and noting that the initial y component of the momentum of the two-particle
system is zero gives
m1 v1i = m1 v1f cos θ + m2 v2f cos φ
0 = m1 v1f sin θ − m2 v2f sin φ
where the minus sign in the last equation is included because after the collision particle 2 has a y
component of velocity that is downward. (The symbols v in these particular equations are speeds,
not velocity components. The direction of the component vector is indicated explicitly with plus or
minus signs.) We now have two independent equations. As long as no more than two of the seven
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quantities in the above two equations are unknown, we can solve the problem.
If the collision is elastic, we can also use conservation of kinetic energy equation with v2i = 0:
1 2
2 m1 v1i = 12 m1 v1f
2
+ 12 m2 v2f
2

Knowing the initial speed of particle 1 and both masses, we are left with four unknowns (v1f , v2f , θ, and φ).
Because we have only three equations, one of the four remaining quantities must be given to deter-
mine the motion after the elastic collision from conservation principles alone.
If the collision is inelastic, kinetic energy is not conserved and the above last equation does not
apply.

5.6 Center of Mass

Center of Mass is a point in a rigid body at which the total mass of the body is assumed
to be concentrated. The center of mass of a system moves as if all the mass of the system were
concentrated at that point. Furthermore, if the resultant external force on the system is ΣF~ext and
~ext
ΣF
the total mass of the system is M , the center of mass moves with an acceleration given by a = M .
That is, the system moves as if the resultant external force were applied to a single particle of mass
M located at the center of mass. This behavior is independent of other motion, such as rotation or
vibration of the system.

The Center of Mass of m1 , m2 , m3 , ... located at respective positions x1 , x2 , x3 , ... is:

P P
m1 x1 +m2 x2 +m3 x3 +....+mn xn i mi xi mi xi
xCM = m1 +m2 +m3 +....+mn = P = i
i mi M
th
where xi is the x coordinate of the i particle. For convenience, we express the total mass as
P
M = mi where the sum runs over all n particles.
We can extend this concept to a system of many particles with masses mi in three dimensions.
The x coordinate of the center of mass of n particles is defined as before and thy y and z coordinates