CHAPTER 3

LINEAR MOMENTUM
 Lesson Outcomes

At the end of this chapter, students should be able to :

 Understand the concept of momentum and the principle of conservation

of momentum

 Distinguish between elastic and inelastic collision

 Determine the momentum and kinetic energy for elastic and inelastic
collision
 LINEAR MOMENTUM, p

• A moving object has momentum - the tendency of the object to keep

moving in the same direction.

• The linear momentum, p, is defined as the product of the mass of particle,

m and its velocity, v for particle moving in a straight line.

p = mv

• A vector quantity
• Direction : same as that of velocity.
• Unit kgms-1 or Ns.
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 MOMENTUM & IMPULSE
•• Changing
  the momentum of an object requires the application of a force.
• From Newton’s Second Law of Motion ;

• Thus, impulse is the change in momentum or the product of force times the time over
which the force acts.
• For F versus t graph, the area under graph gives the impulse.
 IMPULSIVE FORCE
• The force that produces impulse is called impulsive force.
• Impulsive force is defined as the rate of change of momentum.
• The impulsive force is executed in a very short interval of time.
(Examples: Karate kick, smashing a shuttlecock, kicking a ball)
• Pushing/pulling is force, but it is applied for much longer times.
• To increase the impulse , F must be executed at a very short interval.
• In car accident, to reduce impulsive force, t can be increased by using softer body.

Impulse vs Force
A force determines the acceleration (rate of velocity change) of an object. A greater
force produces a higher acceleration.
An impulse determines the velocity change of an object. A greater impulse yield a
higher velocity change.
Example 1 :

In a particular crash test, a car of mass 1 500 kg collides with a wall as shown in figure. The
initial and final velocities of the car 15 m/s and 2.6 m/s , respectively. If the collision lasts
0.15 s, calculate the impulse caused by the collision and the average force exerted on the car.

Solution :

Ans = 2.64 x 104 kgm/s, 1.76 x 105 N

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Example 2 :

A golf ball of mass 0.045 kg is hit off the tee at a speed of 45 m/s. The average force exerted
on the ball by the golf club is 578 N,
a) Determine the impulse imparted by the golf ball.
b) How long does the golf club was in contact with the ball

Solution :

Ans= 2.025 kg m/s , 3.5 x 10-3 s 7

Example 3 :
The graph given below belongs to an object having mass 2 kg and velocity 10m/s. It moves
on a horizontal surface. Determine the velocity of the object at t = 7 s

Solution:

Ans = 19.5 m/s 8

PRINCIPLE OF CONSERVATION OF LINEAR MOMENTUM

• Whenever two or more particles in an isolated system interact, the total

momentum of the system remains constant.
(Isolated system is one for which the sum of the average external forces acting on the system is zero)

Principle of Conservation of Momentum :

 initial momentum =  final momentum

pi = pf

For a collision between two bodies :

pi = pf

m1u1+ m2u2 = m1v1 +m2v2 9

 COLLISION BETWEEN TWO BODIES
There are 2 types of collision:

i) Elastic - Total kinetic energy is conserved.

- The two objects move separately after collision

ii) Inelastic - Total kinetic energy is not conserved.

- Two types of inelastic collision

a) Perfect inelestic : Object entangled / stick together /embedded

after collision. Both object have common velocity.

b) Non-perfect inelestic : Objects do not stick together after collision.

They have their own velocity

** momentum is conserved for both elastic & inelastic collision 10

 Elastic Collision
 

• For elastic collision, the KE is conserved.

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
m1u1  m2 u 2  m1v1  m2 v2
2 2 2 2
• Since the total kinetic energy is conserved, this means the initial total kinetic energy cannot be
transformed into other forms of energy like sound and heat after the collision.

• During impact, the particles deform elastically; meaning they behave like perfectly elastic springs,
absorbing and releasing the same energy during impact.

Momentum is conserved:

m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 +m2v2

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 Inelastic Collision
i) Perfect: Object entangled or stick together or embedded after collision. Both object
have common velocity.

Momentum is conserved: m1u1 + m2u2 = (m1+ m2) v

ii) Non-perfect: Objects do not stick together i.e they have their own velocity.

Momentum is conserved: m1u1 + m2u2 = m1v1 +m2v2

For inelastic collision, kinetic energy is not conserved, i.e KE is converted to other types of energy

Σ 𝐾 𝐸𝑖≠ Σ 𝐾 𝐸𝑓
 

1 2 1 2 1 2 1 2
m1u1  m2u 2  m1v1  m2 v2
2 2 2 2
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Example 4 :
A particle P of mass 3 kg moves to the right with a velocity of 4 m/s and collides head-on with particle Q
of mass 2.5 kg that has a velocity of 10 m/s. After the perfect elastic collision, particle P moves with
velocity 1.5 m/s in its original direction. Determine the velocity of particle Q after collision.

Solution :

Ans = -7 m/s 13
Example 5 :
A ball of mass 0.44 kg moving East with a speed of 3.3 m/s collides with a 0.22 kg ball at rest. If the
collision is perfectly elastic, what will be the speed and direction of each ball after collision?

Solution :

Ans = 1.1 m/s and 4.4 m/s, both to the right 14

Example 6 :
An object of mass 1 kg moving at a speed of 5 m/s to the right collides head-on with another object
of mass 2 kg initially moving at a speed 4 m/s. After the collision, the two objects stick together and
continue to move in same direction. Calculate:

a) The velocity of each object after collision

b) The amount of kinetic energy lost after collision

Solution :

Ans = -1 m/s, 27 J15

Example 7
Calculate the recoil velocity of a 5 kg rifle that shoots a 50 g bullet at a speed of 120 m/s.

Solution :

Ans = -1.2 m/s 16