Isolated Systems
The previous part of Lesson 2 focused on the Law of Conservation of Momentum. It was stated that ... For a collision occurring between object 1 and object 2 in an isolated system,…
The Logic behind Momentum Conservation
Consider a collision between two objects - object 1 and object 2. For such a collision, the forces acting between the two objects are equal in magnitude and opposite in…
Momentum Conservation Principle
One of the most powerful laws in physics is the law of momentum conservation. The law of momentum conservation can be stated as follows. For a collision occurring between object 1 and…
The Law of Momentum Conservation
The Law of Action-Reaction A collision is an interaction between two objects that have made contact (usually) with each other. As in any interaction, a collision results in a force…
The Effect of Rebounding
Occasionally when objects collide, they bounce off each other as opposed to sticking to each other and traveling with the same speed after the collision. Bouncing off each other is known as rebounding.…
The Effect of Collision Time Upon the Force
First we will examine the importance of the collision time in affecting the amount of force that an object experiences during a collision. In a previous part of Lesson 1,…
Real-World Applications
In a collision, an object experiences a force for a given amount of time that results in its massundergoing a change in velocity (i.e., that results in a momentum change). There are four physical quantities mentioned in the…
The Momentum Equation as a Guide to Thinking
From the definition of momentum, it becomes obvious that an object has a large momentum if both its mass and its velocity are large. Both variables are of equal importance…
Momentum as a Vector Quantity
Momentum is a vector quantity. As discussed in an earlier unit, a vector quantity is a quantity that is fully described by both magnitude and direction. To fully describe the momentum of a…
The Impulse-Momentum Change Theorem
Momentum The sports announcer says, "Going into the all-star break, the Chicago White Sox have themomentum." The headlines declare "Chicago Bulls Gaining Momentum." The coach pumps up his team at half-time, saying "You have the momentum; the…
