MOMENTUM

What is Momentum?
Momentum may be defined by its equation:

Momentum is a quantity defined

as the product of the mass and
velocity of an object.
 Unit of Momentum
• The equation illustrates that momentum
is directly proportional to an object’s
mass and the object’s velocity.
Momentum’s Proportionality
Momentum’s Proportionality
Momentum’s Proportionality
 Momentum is a vector quantity
• Back to the Bowling Ball: To fully describe the
momentum of a 5 kg bowling ball, moving
westward at 2 m/s, you must include both the
magnitude and the direction of the bowling
ball’s momentum. (It would not be enough to
just say the ball has 10 kg.m/s momentum.)
Momentum: Sample Problem
 Changing Momentum
• A change in momentum takes force
and time. To stop an object, it is
necessary to apply a force against its
motion for a given period of time.
 Changing Momentum

In football, the defensive player

applies a force for a given amount
of time to stop the momentum of
the offensive player with the ball.
 Changing Momentum

Serway/Faughn - Physics
 Changing Momentum
• A force is applied to an object to change its
momentum.
• Impulse – the product of the force, and the time
over which the force is applied. Serway/Faughn - Physics

• Impulse – Momentum Theorem – the impulse

experienced by the object equals the change in
momentum
Changing Momentum
Sample Problem: Force needed for change in
momentum (impulse)
Sample Problem: Force acting on a car while
braking.
Sample Problem: Force acting on a car
while braking.

(The car on the last slide.)

 Changing Momentum
Increasing the time of an impact can reduce the
force of a collision.
This Inupiat (Alaska native people)
Family is playing a traditional game.

The blanket stretches and extends

the time of collision so that the
change in the girl’s momentum
occurs over a longer time interval.

A longer time interval requires a

smaller force to change the girls
momentum, than if she fell directly
to the ground (not a good idea.)
Serway/Faughn - Physics
Skydiver Lisa Boyer fell 3,810 meters
after her parachute failed to open.
She landed in a sludge pond and
survived ---unhurt!
If Boyer had landed on solid ground, she would have
come to a crashing halt in about 0.0001 sec.
The concentrated force of that abrupt landing would
have killed her instantly.
• But she landed in the sludge pond of a sewage
treatment plant. The soft, squishy sludge brought her
body to rest in about 0.03 sec ---30 times longer than
if she landed on sold ground.

Falling into sewage sure

is gross, but it beats the
alternative.

• Because the force of the impact was distributed over

this longer time, it was never strong enough to cause
serious injury.
(Science World)
Window washer Chris Saggers fell 22 stories to the roof a
car. He walked away with only a broken elbow. If he had hit
the roof feet first, the force would have been focused in a
small area, shattered his legs, and driven the bones into his
spine.
But Saggers landed sprawled out, with the force of impact
distributed evenly over his body. (Science World)
The car roof crumpled
so it lengthen the
time of the impact.
 Conservation of Momentum
The total momentum of all objects
interacting with one another remains
constant regardless of the nature of the
forces between the objects.
Soccer Ball Collision & Conservation of
Momentum
Soccer Ball Collision & Conservation of
Momentum
Elastic Collision
Conservation of Momentum & Collisions

• In every interaction between two

isolated objects, the change in
momentum of the first object is
equal and opposite to the change in
momentum of the second object.
Conservation of Momentum & Collisions
Conservation of Momentum & Collisions –
Boater Problem
Conservation of Momentum & Collisions –
Boater Problem
 Types of Collisions
• Perfectly inelastic collisions – When
two objects collide and move
together as one mass ---they stick
together after the collision. (like a
meteorite and the earth)
 Types of Collisions
• Perfectly inelastic collisions
 Types of Collisions
Elastic collision: two objects collide and
return to their original shapes with no
change in kinetic energy. Here again,
the total momentum remains constant.
Types of Collisions
Types of Collisions
Types of Collisions