Momentum and Collisions

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Stopping moving objects
Why is it a good idea to avoid a large object moving quickly?

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What is momentum?
All moving objects have momentum. This is a measure of
how difficult it is to stop a moving object.

If these two cars have the

same mass but one is
quicker than the other, which
has the most momentum?
The faster car.

If both cars travel at the same velocity, but one is full with
luggage and the other is empty, which will have the most
momentum? The heavier car.

The bigger an object is and the faster it moves, the more

momentum it will have and the more difficult it will be to stop.

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How is momentum calculated?
The momentum of an object can be calculated using this
equation:

momentum = mass × velocity

 Mass is measured in kilograms (kg).

 Velocity is measured in metres per second (m/s).

 Momentum is measured in kilogram metres per

second (kg m/s).

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Scalar or vector?
Velocity is a vector quantity – this means it has a
magnitude (size) and direction. Scalar quantities, such
as speed, only have a magnitude.
As velocity is needed to calculate momentum, momentum
must also be a vector quantity and it therefore has a direction.
If two objects of the same
mass are moving in opposite
directions but at the same
speed (i.e. their velocities are
different), the momentum of
each object will be different.
A ‘+’ and a ‘–’ are often used
to indicate the opposite directions of momentum.

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Calculating momentum question
An aircraft carrier has a
mass of 1,000,000 kg
and a velocity of 15 m/s.
What is its momentum?

momentum = mass × velocity

= 1,000,000 × 15

= 15,000,000 kg m/s

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Momentum calculations

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Momentum and collisions

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What is conservation of momentum?
If two objects collide or interact, the
forces acting on each one will be the
same size but in opposite directions.
The same is true for the change in
momentum of each object.

This means that the momentum

lost by one of the objects will
be gained by the other object.
Therefore, whenever two
objects collide or interact,
momentum is conserved.

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Using conservation of momentum

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Conservation of momentum question
Two trolleys collide and stick together. From the data below,
calculate the velocity of the trolleys after the collision.

trolley A trolley B
mass = 3 kg mass = 5 kg
velocity = 8 m/s velocity = –4 m/s
momentum = 24 kg m/s momentum = –20 kg m/s
total momentum before collision = 4 kg m/s (24 + –20)
mass after collision = 8 kg (3 + 5)
momentum after collision = 4 kg m/s
velocity after collision = momentum / mass = 0.5 m/s

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Investigating momentum

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Momentum in explosions

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Momentum: true or false?

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Force and change in momentum
When a force is applied to an object, the object’s velocity
changes. This means that its momentum will also change.

The change in momentum depends on the size of the

force and the time for which it is applied. The relationship
between these values is shown by this equation:

force = change in momentum

time
 Momentum is measured in kilogram metres per
second (kg m/s).
 Time is measured in seconds (s).
 Force is measured in newtons (N).

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Change in momentum question 1
A rugby ball of mass 0.5 kg is
kicked from stationary to a velocity
of 8 m/s. The kicker’s foot is in
contact with ball for 0.1 seconds.
What force does the kicker use?

change in momentum
force =
time
= (0.5 × 8) – ( 0.5 × 0)
0.1
= 4
0.1
= 40 N

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Change in momentum question 2
A tennis ball is rolled at a toy car of mass 0.1 kg. The car
is moved with a velocity of 0.5 m/s. If the ball and car are
in contact for 0.05 seconds, with what force is the tennis
ball rolled?
change in momentum
force =
time
= (0.1 × 0.5) – ( 0.1 × 0)
0.1
= 0.05
0.05
= 1N

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Change in momentum calculations

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Newton’s second law
Newton’s second law of motion states that:

force = mass × acceleration

Acceleration is calculated by dividing change in velocity

by time. This can be substituted into Newton’s second law:
mass × change in velocity
force =
time
Compare this equation with the one below. What do you
notice? change in momentum
force =
time
change in momentum
= mass × acceleration
time
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Car crashes and momentum
What happens if two cars travelling very quickly collide?

Both cars come to a stop

in a short space of time.
This means that the cars
and their occupants
experience a large change
of momentum very quickly.
Why could this cause a
very serious injury?

A very large change of momentum in a short space of time

means that the car occupants will experience a large force.

Using this principle, how could you improve the safety of cars?

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Reducing forces in collisions
The best way to reduce the
forces in a collision is usually change in momentum
force =
to increase the time taken for time
the person to decelerate.

A longer deceleration means that change in momentum

occurs over a longer time. There is therefore a smaller force
acting on the person.

Air bags increase the

time it takes for a driver’s
head to decelerate,
bringing them to a more
gradual stop.

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Glossary

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Multiple-choice quiz

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