AQA Mechanics 1 Momentum

Section 1: Conservation of momentum

Notes and Examples
These notes contain subsections on
The momentum equation
Conservation of momentum

The momentum equation

You can think of the magnitude of the momentum of an object is thought of as
its resistance to being stopped. For example, a large ship whose engines
have been stopped takes a very long time to come to a halt, even if it is
moving quite slowly, because of its large mass. A small rowing boat, however,
stops fairly quickly after rowing ceases, even if it has been moving quite fast.
Notice that the law Ft = m(v u) means that if you want to change the
velocity of an object, you can apply a smaller force for a longer period of time,
or you can apply a larger force for a shorter period of time.

Conservation of momentum
Read the examples carefully. It is very important in this work to draw a clear
diagram showing the speeds and directions of motion of each body before
and after the impact.
Here are two further examples. The masses and initial speeds of the particles
are the same in each of the two examples, but the outcome of the impact is
different in each case.

Example 1
Two particles, A and B, of masses m and 4m respectively, are moving in the same
direction with speeds of 5u and u respectively, so that A is catching up with B. After
they collide, the speed of B is 2u.
Find the velocity of A after the collision.
Solution
Before impact

4m

2u

5u
A

After impact
A m

4m

Conservation of momentum:

5mu + 4mu = mv + 8mu

mu = mv
v=u
The velocity of A is u in the same direction as before.

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AQA M1 Momentum 1 Notes and Examples

Example 2
Two particles, A and B, of masses m and 4m respectively, are moving in the same
direction with speeds of 5u and u respectively, so that A is catching up with B. After
they collide, the speed of B is 2.5u.
Find the velocity of A after the collision.
Solution
Before impact

5u
A

After impact

4m

A m

2.5u
4m B

Conservation of momentum:

5mu + 4mu = mv + 10mu

-mu = mv
v = -u
The speed of A is u in the opposite direction to before.

These two examples show the same initial set of circumstances, with two
different outcomes. You should be able to see that for the given masses and
initial velocities, there are in theory an infinite number of possible sets of final
velocities. The law of conservation of momentum only tells us that the final
momentum of the system must equal 9mu as that is the initial momentum of
the system.
However, it is probably clear to you that not all theoretical solutions are
possible in practice. For example, consider a final velocity for A of -100u. This
gives a final velocity for B of 27.5u. These velocities satisfy the equation of
conservation of momentum, but it seems obvious that they are not possible in
practice.
At present you can only solve examples like the ones above if you are given
one of the final velocities, or if the bodies join together on impact. This seems
unsatisfactory: in Mechanics we can usually predict what will happen in a
given situation before it happens, if we have enough data. You may feel that
we ought to be able to calculate the velocities of both particles after the
impact.
Clearly, to do this, we need to have further information. The outcome of the
situation depends not only on the masses and speeds of the particles initially,
but also on the type of materials of which they are made: how elastic
(bouncy) they are. You can probably see that in the two examples given
earlier, Example 2 must involve particles made of a more elastic material than
those in Example 1, as the first particle rebounds.
If you go on to study Mechanics 3, you will learn how the elasticity or
bounciness of the objects involved in a collision affects the outcome of the
collision. You will then, given the relevant information, be able to calculate the
final velocities of both objects involved in a collision.

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