Chapter 6

Momentum and Collisions

Assistant Professor
Naveed Ghani
Momentum

 The linear momentum p of an
object ofmass m moving with a
velocity v is defined as the product
of the mass and the velocity
 

p  mv
 SI Units are kg m / s
 Vector quantity, the direction of the
momentum is the same as the
velocity’s
Momentum components
 p x  mv x and p y  mv y
 Applies to two-dimensional motion
Impulse
 In order to change the momentum of an
object, a force must be applied
 The time rate of change of momentum
of an object is equal to the net force
acting on it

p m(v f  v i ) 
   Fnet
t t
 Gives an alternative statement of Newton’s
second law
Impulse cont.
 When a single, constant force acts
on the object, there is an impulse
delivered
  to the object
 I  F t

 I is defined as the impulse
 Vector quantity, the direction is the
same as the direction of the force
Impulse-Momentum
Theorem
 The theorem states that the
impulse acting on the object is
equal to the change in momentum
of the object
  
 Ft  p  mv f  mv i
 If the force is not constant, use the
average force applied
Average Force in Impulse
 The average force
can be thought of as
the constant force
that would give the
same impulse to the
object in the time
interval as the actual
time-varying force
gives in the interval
Average Force cont.
 The impulse imparted by a force
during the time interval Δt is equal
to the area under the force-time
graph from the beginning to the
end of the time interval
 Or, the impulse is equal to the
average force multiplied by the

time interval, Fav t  p
Impulse Applied to Auto
Collisions
 The most important factor is the
collision time or the time it takes
the person to come to a rest
 This will reduce the chance of dying in
a car crash
 Ways to increase the time
 Seat belts
 Air bags
 Air Bags
 The air bag increases
the time of the
collision
 It will also absorb
some of the energy
from the body
 It will spread out the
area of contact
 decreases the
pressure
 helps prevent
penetration wounds
Conservation of
Momentum
 Momentum in an isolated system in
which a collision occurs is conserved
 A collision may be the result of physical
contact between two objects
 “Contact” may also arise from the
electrostatic interactions of the electrons in
the surface atoms of the bodies
 An isolated system will have no external
forces
Conservation of
Momentum, cont
 The principle of conservation of
momentum states when no
external forces act on a system
consisting of two objects that
collide with each other, the total
momentum of the system remains
constant in time
 Specifically, the total momentum
before the collision will equal the total
momentum after the collision
Conservation of
Momentum, cont.
 Mathematically:
   
m1v1i  m2 v 2 i  m1 v1f  m2 v 2 f
 Momentum is conserved for the system of
objects
 The system includes all the objects
interacting with each other
 Assumes only internal forces are acting
during the collision
 Can be generalized to any number of
objects
Notes About A System
 Remember conservation of
momentum applies to the system
 You must define the isolated
system
Types of Collisions
 Momentum is conserved in any collision
 Inelastic collisions
 Kinetic energy is not conserved
 Some of the kinetic energy is converted into
other types of energy such as heat, sound, work
to permanently deform an object
 Perfectly inelastic collisions occur when the
objects stick together
 Not all of the KE is necessarily lost
More Types of Collisions
 Elastic collision
 both momentum and kinetic energy
are conserved
 Actual collisions
 Most collisions fall between elastic
and perfectly inelastic collisions
More About Perfectly
Inelastic Collisions
 When two objects
stick together
after the collision,
they have
undergone a
perfectly inelastic
collision
 Conservation of
momentum
becomes
m1v 1i  m 2 v 2i  (m1  m 2 )v f
Some General Notes
About Collisions
 Momentum is a vector quantity
 Direction is important
 Be sure to have the correct signs
More About Elastic
Collisions
 Both momentum and kinetic
energy are conserved
 Typically have two unknowns
m1v 1i  m 2 v 2i  m1v 1f  m 2 v 2 f
1 1 1 1
m1v 1i  m 2 v 2i  m1v 1f  m 2 v 22 f
2 2 2

2 2 2 2
 Solve the equations
simultaneously
Elastic Collisions, cont.
 A simpler equation can be used in
place of the KE equation
v 1i  v 2i  ( v 1f  v 2 f )
Summary of Types of
Collisions
 In an elastic collision, both momentum
and kinetic energy are conserved
 In an inelastic collision, momentum is
conserved but kinetic energy is not
 In a perfectly inelastic collision,
momentum is conserved, kinetic energy
is not, and the two objects stick
together after the collision, so their final
velocities are the same
Problem Solving for One -
Dimensional Collisions
 Coordinates: Set up a coordinate
axis and define the velocities with
respect to this axis
 It is convenient to make your axis
coincide with one of the initial
velocities
 Diagram: In your sketch, draw all
the velocity vectors and label the
velocities and the masses
Problem Solving for One -
Dimensional Collisions, 2
 Conservation of Momentum:
Write a general expression for the
total momentum of the system
before and after the collision
 Equate the two total momentum
expressions
 Fill in the known values
Problem Solving for One -
Dimensional Collisions, 3
 Conservation of Energy: If the
collision is elastic, write a second
equation for conservation of KE, or
the alternative equation
 This only applies to perfectly elastic
collisions
 Solve: the resulting equations
simultaneously
Sketches for Collision
Problems
 Draw “before”
and “after”
sketches
 Label each object
 include the
direction of
velocity
 keep track of
subscripts
Sketches for Perfectly
Inelastic Collisions
 The objects stick
together
 Include all the
velocity directions
 The “after”
collision combines
the masses
Glancing Collisions
 For a general collision of two objects in
three-dimensional space, the
conservation of momentum principle
implies that the total momentum of the
system in each direction is conserved
 m1v 1ix  m 2 v 2ix  m1v 1f x  m 2 v 2 f x and
m1v 1iy  m 2 v 2iy  m1v 1f y  m 2 v 2 f y
 Use subscripts for identifying the object,
initial and final velocities, and components
 Glancing Collisions

 The “after” velocities have x and y

components
 Momentum is conserved in the x direction and
in the y direction
 Apply conservation of momentum separately
to each direction
Problem Solving for Two-
Dimensional Collisions
 Coordinates: Set up coordinate
axes and define your velocities
with respect to these axes
 It is convenient to choose the x- or y-
axis to coincide with one of the initial
velocities
 Draw: In your sketch, draw and
label all the velocities and masses
Problem Solving for Two-
Dimensional Collisions, 2
 Conservation of Momentum: Write
expressions for the x and y components
of the momentum of each object before
and after the collision
 Write expressions for the total
momentum before and after the
collision in the x-direction and in the y-
direction
Problem Solving for Two-
Dimensional Collisions, 3
 Conservation of Energy: If the
collision is elastic, write an
expression for the total energy
before and after the collision
 Equate the two expressions
 Fill in the known values
 Solve the quadratic equations
 Can’t be simplified
Problem Solving for Two-
Dimensional Collisions, 4
 Solve for the unknown quantities
 Solve the equations simultaneously
 There will be two equations for
inelastic collisions
 There will be three equations for
elastic collisions
Rocket Propulsion
 The operation of a rocket depends on
the law of conservation of momentum
as applied to a system, where the
system is the rocket plus its ejected fuel
 This is different than propulsion on the
earth where two objects exert forces on
each other
 road on car
 train on track
Rocket Propulsion, 2
 The rocket is accelerated as a
result of the thrust of the exhaust
gases
 This represents the inverse of an
inelastic collision
 Momentum is conserved
 Kinetic Energy is increased (at the
expense of the stored energy of the
rocket fuel)
Rocket Propulsion, 3

 The initial mass of the rocket is M + Δm

 M is the mass of the rocket
 m is the mass of the fuel

 The initial velocity of the rocket is v
Rocket Propulsion

 The rocket’s mass is M

 The mass of the fuel, Δm, has been
ejected
 The rocket’s speed has increased to
 
v  v
Rocket Propulsion, final
 The basic equation for rocket propulsion
is:
 Mi 
v f  v i  v e ln 
 Mf 
 Mi is the initial mass of the rocket plus fuel
 Mf is the final mass of the rocket plus any
remaining fuel
 The speed of the rocket is proportional to
the exhaust speed
Thrust of a Rocket
 The thrust is the force exerted on the
rocket by the ejected exhaust gases
 The instantaneous thrust is given by
v M
Ma  M  ve
t t
 The thrust increases as the exhaust speed
increases and as the burn rate (ΔM/Δt)
increases