Everglades High School

Physics Honors

Momentum and Collisions

(Chapter 6)

Alberto Dominguez

Updated for 2019 Edition of HMH Physics

Topics

1. Linear Momentum and Impulse

2. Conservation of Momentum
3. Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

p. 191
Let’s Review Prior Knowledge

• Force
• Newton’s Laws of Motion
• Kinetic Energy
• Conservation of Energy

p. 191
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Section 1 Objectives

• Compare the momentum of different moving

objects.
• Compare the momentum of the same object
moving with different velocities.
• Identify examples of change in the
momentum of an object.
• Describe changes in momentum in terms of
force and time.
p. 192
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Linear Momentum

• Momentum is mass times velocity

• The SI unit of momentum is kg m / s

p. 192
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Chapter Review #37

A 0.10 kg ball is thrown straight up

into the air with an initial speed of 15
m/s. Find the momentum of the ball
(a) at its maximum height and (b)
halfway to its maximum height on the
way up.

Hint: This is mostly a chapter 5 review problem

(conservation of mechanical energy)
p. 220
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Linear Momentum

• Impulse = change in momentum J =

• A change in momentum takes force and time
• (original formulation of Newton’s 2nd Law)

• Impulse-Momentum Theorem:

p. 194
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Practice B #1

A 0.50 kg football is thrown with a

velocity of 15 m/s to the right. A
stationary receiver catches the ball
and brings it to rest in 0.020 s.
What is the magnitude of the force
exerted on the ball by the
receiver?
p. 195
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Practice B #3

A 0.40 kg soccer ball approaches a

(stationary) player horizontally with a
velocity of 18 m/s to the north. The
player strikes the ball and causes it
to move in the opposite direction with
a velocity of 22 m/s. What impulse
was delivered to the ball by the
player?
p. 195
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Chapter Review #12

A 2.5 kg ball strikes a wall with a

velocity of 8.5 m/s to the left. The
ball bounces off with a velocity of 7.5
m/s to the right. If the ball is in
contact with the wall for 0.25 s, what
is the constant force exerted on the
ball by the wall? What impulse was
delivered to the ball?
p. 218
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Section 1 Formative Assessment Review #1

The speed of a particle is

doubled.
a) By what factor is its
momentum changed?
b) What happens to its kinetic
energy?
p. 198
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Stopping time and distance

• What does an airbag do?

• Stopping times and distances depend
on the impulse-momentum theorem
• Force is reduced when the time
interval of an impact is increased
• From about 0.026 s to about 0.75 s
• Force and time are inversely proportional

p. 196
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Stopping time and distance

p. 198
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Practice C #2

A 2500 kg car traveling to the north is slowed down

uniformly from an initial velocity of 20.0 m/s by a
6250 N braking force acting opposite to the car’s
motion.
a)What is the car’s velocity after 2.50 s?
b)How far does the car move during these 2.50 s?
c)How long does it take the car to come to a
complete stop?

p. 197
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Chapter Review #14

A 0.15 kg baseball moving at +26

m/s is slowed to a stop by a
catcher who exerts a constant
force of -390 N.
a)How long does it take this force to
stop the ball?
b)How far does the ball travel before
stopping?
p. 218
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Chapter Review #41

A 0.025 kg golf ball moving at 18.0 m/s

crashes through the window of a house in
5.0 x 10-4 s. After the crash, the ball
continues in the same direction with a
speed of 10.0 m/s. Assuming the force
exerted on the ball by the window was
constant, what was the magnitude of this
force? Follow-up: What impulse was
delivered to the ball?
p. 220
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Section 1 Formative Assessment #2

A pitcher claims he can throw a 0.145 kg

baseball with as much momentum as a
speeding bullet (m = 3.00 g, v = 1.50 x
103 m/s).
a) What is the momentum of a bullet?
b) What must the baseball’s speed be if
the pitcher’s claim is valid?
c) Which has the greater kinetic energy,
the ball or the bullet?
p. 198
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Section 1 Formative Assessment #3

A 0.42 kg soccer ball is moving with a

velocity of 12 m/s downfield. A player
kicks the ball so that it has a final velocity
of 18 m/s downfield.
a) What impulse did the ball experience?
b) Find the constant force exerted by the
player’s foot on the ball if the two are in
contact for 0.020 s.

p. 198
 Section 1 Momentum and Impulse

Homework

Pg 193 #1,2,3
Pg 195 #2,4
Pg 197 #1,3
Pg 218 #11,13,35,36,46

p. 197
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Section 2 Objectives

• SC.912.P12.5: Apply the law of conservation

of linear momentum to interactions such as
collisions between objects.
• Describe the interaction between two objects
in terms of the change in momentum of
each.
• Compare the total momentum of two objects
before and after they interact.
• Predict the final velocities of objects after
collisions.

p. 199
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Conservation of Momentum

• Momentum is conserved in collisions

• Momentum is conserved for objects
pushing away from each other

• Newton’s Third Law leads to conservation

of momentum
• Forces in real collisions are not constant
during the collision

p. 200
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Practice D #1

A 63.0 kg astronaut is on a spacewalk when the

tether line to the shuttle breaks. The astronaut
is able to throw a spare 10.0 kg oxygen tank in
a direction away from the shuttle with a speed
of 12.0 m/s, propelling the astronaut back to the
shuttle. Assuming the astronaut starts from
rest with respect to the shuttle, find the
astronaut’s speed with respect to the shuttle
after the tank is thrown.

p. 203
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Practice D #2

An 85.0 kg fisherman jumps from

a dock into a 135.0 kg rowboat at
rest. If the velocity of the
fisherman is 4.30 m/s to the west
as he leaves the dock, what is
the final velocity of the fisherman
and boat?
p. 203
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Practice D #4

A boy on a 2.0 kg skateboard

initially at rest tosses an 8.0 kg
jug of water in the forward
direction at a speed of 3.0 m/s. If
the boy and skateboard move in
the opposite direction to the jug
at 0.60 m/s, find the boy’s mass.
p. 203
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Chapter Review #23

A tennis player places a 55 kg

ball machine on a frictionless
surface. The machine fires a
0.057 kg tennis ball horizontally
with a velocity of 36 m/s toward
the north. What is the final
velocity of the machine?
p. 219
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Practice Problem

You (mass 55 kg) are riding a

frictionless skateboard (mass 5.0
kg) in a straight line at a speed of
4.5 m/s. A mob boss drops a dead
fish (mass 3.0 kg) on your head as a
warning. Assuming the fish sticks to
your head, what is your new speed?
Adapted from Young, University Physics 14th Ed, problem 8.28
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Chapter Review #40

A 730 N student stands in the middle of a

frozen pond having a radius of 5.0 m. He
is unable to get to the other side because
of a lack of friction between his shoes and
the ice. To overcome this difficulty, he
throws his 2.6 kg physics biology textbook
horizontally toward the north shore at a
speed of 5.0 m/s. How long does it take
him to reach the south shore?
p. 220
Homework
pg 203 #3
pg 219-22 #22,43,44,48,50
 Section 2 Conservation of Momentum

Section 2 Formative Assessment #3 (modified)

High-speed stroboscopic
photographs show the head of a 215
g golf club traveling at 55.0 m/s just
before it strikes a 46 g golf ball at rest
on a tee. After the collision, the club
travels in the same direction at 40.0
m/s. Find the speed of the golf ball
just after impact.
p. 205
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Section 3 Objectives (modified)

• SC.912.P12.5: Apply the law of conservation

of linear momentum to interactions such as
collisions between objects.
• Identify different types of collisions.
• Determine the changes in kinetic energy
during collisions.
• Compare conservation of momentum and
conservation of kinetic energy in collisions.
• Find the final velocity of an object in
collisions.
p. 206
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Collisions

• Elastic collision = two objects collide with no

loss of kinetic energy
• In elastic collisions, both momentum and
kinetic energy are conserved
• In inelastic collisions, kinetic energy is not
conserved
• Perfectly inelastic collision = two objects collide
and move together as a single mass
• This results in the greatest loss of kinetic energy
• Most collisions are neither elastic nor perfectly
inelastic
p. 206
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Types of Collisions

p. 214
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Chapter Review #28

Two carts with masses 4.0 kg

and 3.0 kg move toward each
other on a frictionless track with
speeds of 5.0 m/s and 4.0 m/s,
respectively. The carts stick
together after colliding head-on.
Find the final speed.
p. 219
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Chapter Review #38

A 3.00 kg mud ball has a perfectly

inelastic collision with a second mud
ball that is initially at rest. The
composite system moves with a
speed equal to one-third the original
speed of the 3.00 kg mud ball. What
is the mass of the second mud ball?

p. 220
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Review Problem – 2D Kinematics

Thelma and Louise drive their car

straight off the edge of a cliff that is
57 m high. An investigator at the
scene of the accident notes that the
point of impact is 130 m from the
base of the cliff. How fast was the
car traveling when it went over the
cliff?
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Chapter Review #39

A 5.5 g dart is fired into a block of

wood with a mass of 22.6 g. The
wood block is initially at rest on a 1.5
m tall post. After the collision, the
wood block and dart land 2.5 m from
the base of the post. Find the initial
speed of the dart.

p. 220
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Chapter Review #42

A 1550 kg car moving south at 10.0

m/s collides with a 2550 kg car
moving north. The cars stick
together and move as a unit after
the collision at a velocity of 5.22 m/s
to the north. Find the velocity of the
2550 kg car before the collision.

p. 220
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Chapter Review #34

A 25.0 g marble sliding to the right at

20.0 cm/s overtakes and collides
elastically with a 10.0 g marble
moving in the same direction at 15.0
cm/s. After the collision, the 10.0 g
marble moves to the right at 22.1
cm/s. Find the velocity of the 25.0 g
marble after the collision.
p. 220
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Ballistic Pendulum

A bullet is fired at a ballistic pendulum. The block has

a mass M2 = 3.000 kg, and the bullet has a mass of
m1 = 25.0 g. The bullet becomes embedded in the
block, and the combined block and bullet system
swings up to a maximum height of h = 10.0 cm. What
is the speed of the bullet just before it hits the block?
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Combining Conservation Laws #1

A 15.0 kg block is attached to a very light

horizontal spring of force constant 500 N/m and
is resting on a table. Suddenly it is struck by a
3.00 kg stone traveling horizontally at 8.00 m/s
to the right, whereupon the stone rebounds at
2.00 m/s horizontally to the left. Find the
maximum distance that the block will compress
the spring after the collision.
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Combining Conservation Laws #2

A 5.00-kg chunk of ice is sliding at 12.0

m/s on the floor of a frictionless ice-
covered valley when it collides with and
sticks to another 5.00-kg chunk of ice
that is initially at rest. After the collision,
how high above the valley floor will the
combined chunks go?
 Section 3 Elastic and Inelastic Collisions

Two-Dimensional Collision Problem

An 8.0 kg mass collides elastically with a 5.0 kg mass

that is at rest. Initially, the 8.0 kg mass was traveling
to the right at 4.5 m/s. After the collision, it is moving
with a speed of 3.65 m/s and at an angle of 27° to its
original direction. What is the final speed and
direction of motion for the 5.0 kg mass?
 Homework

• Pg208 #1,2,3,4,5
• Pg 210 #1,2,3
• Pg 213 #1,2,3,4
• Pg 219-222 #20,30,31,32,33,45,46,49

p. 223