Linear Momentum

and Collisions
 Conservation
of Energy
 Momentum
 Impulse
 Conservation
of Momentum
 1-D Collisions
 2-D Collisions
January 4, 2022
 Types of Collisions
 Momentum is conserved in any collision
 Inelastic collisions: rubber ball and hard ball
 Kinetic energy is not conserved
 Perfectly inelastic collisions occur when the objects
stick together
 Elastic collisions: billiard ball
 both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved
 Actual collisions
 Most collisions fall between elastic and perfectly
inelastic collisions

January 4, 2022
 Collisions Summary
 In an elastic collision, both momentum and kinetic energy
are conserved
 In a non-perfect inelastic collision, momentum is
conserved but kinetic energy is not. Moreover, the
objects do not stick together
 In a perfectly inelastic collision, momentum is conserved,
kinetic energy is not, and the two objects stick together
after the collision, so their final velocities are the same
 Elastic and perfectly inelastic collisions are limiting cases,
most actual collisions fall in between these two types
 Momentum is conserved in all collisions

January 4, 2022
 More about Perfectly Inelastic
Collisions
 When two objects stick together
after the collision, they have
undergone a perfectly inelastic
collision
 Conservation of momentum
m1v1i  m 2 v 2 i  ( m1  m 2 ) v f
m1v1i  m2 v2 i
vf 
m1  m2
 Kinetic energy is NOT conserved

January 4, 2022
 More About Elastic Collisions
 Both momentum and kinetic energy
are conserved
m1v1i  m2 v2 i  m1v1 f  m2 v2 f
1 1 1 1
m1v1i  m2 v2i  m1v1 f  m2 v22 f
2 2 2

2 2 2 2
 Typically have two unknowns
 Momentum is a vector quantity
 Direction is important
 Be sure to have the correct signs
 Solve the equations simultaneously

January 4, 2022
 Elastic Collisions
 A simpler equation can be used in place of the KE
equation
1 1 1 1
m1v1i  m2 v2 i  m1v1 f  m2 v 22 f
2 2 2

2 2 2 2
m1 (v12i  v12f )  m 2 (v 22 f  v 22i )
v  v  ( v  v )
m1 ( v11i i v1 f )( v21ii  v1 f )  m 21(fv 2 f  v 22i )(f v 2 f  v 2 i )
m1v1i  m 2 v 2 i  m1v1 f  m 2 v 2 f m1 ( v1i  v1 f )  m 2 ( v 2 f  v 2 i )

v1i  v1 f  v 2 f  v 2 i
m1v1i  m 2 v 2 i  m1v1 f  m 2 v 2 f
January 4, 2022
Summary of Types of Collisions
 In an elastic collision, both momentum and kinetic
energy are conserved
v1i  v1 f  v 2 f  v 2 i m1v1i  m 2 v 2 i  m1v1 f  m 2 v 2 f

 In an inelastic collision, momentum is conserved but

kinetic energy is not
m1v1i  m 2 v 2 i  m1v1 f  m 2 v 2 f

 In a perfectly inelastic collision, momentum is

conserved, kinetic energy is not, and the two objects
stick together after the collision, so their final velocities
are the samem v  m v  ( m  m ) v
1 1i 2 2i 1 2 f

January 4, 2022
Problem Solving for 1D Collisions, 1
 Coordinates: Set up a
coordinate axis and define
the velocities with respect
to this axis
 It is convenient to make
your axis coincide with one
of the initial velocities
 Diagram: In your sketch,
draw all the velocity
vectors and label the
velocities and the masses

January 4, 2022
Problem Solving for 1D Collisions, 2
 Conservation of
Momentum: Write a
general expression for the
total momentum of the
system before and after
the collision
 Equate the two total
momentum expressions
 Fill in the known values
m1v1i  m 2 v 2 i  m1v1 f  m 2 v 2 f
January 4, 2022
Problem Solving for 1D Collisions, 3
 Conservation of Energy:
If the collision is elastic,
write a second equation
for conservation of KE, or
the alternative equation
 This only applies to perfectly
elastic collisions
v1i  v1 f  v 2 f  v 2 i
 Solve: the resulting
equations simultaneously

January 4, 2022
One-Dimension vs Two-Dimension

January 4, 2022
 Two-Dimensional Collisions
 For a general collision of two objects in two-
dimensional space, the conservation of momentum
principle implies that the total momentum of the
system in each direction is conserved
m1v1ix  m2 v2ix  m1v1 fx  m2 v2 fx
m1v1iy  m2 v2iy  m1v1 fy  m2 v2 fy

January 4, 2022
 Two-Dimensional Collisions
 The momentum is conserved in all directions
 Use subscripts for m1v1ix  m2 v2ix  m1v1 fx  m2 v2 fx
 Identifying the object m1v1iy  m2 v2iy  m1v1 fy  m2 v2 fy
 Indicating initial or final values
 The velocity components
 If the collision is elastic, use conservation of
kinetic energy as a second equation
 Remember, the simpler equation can only be used
for one-dimensional situations
v1i  v1 f  v 2 f  v 2 i
January 4, 2022
 Glancing Collisions

 The “after” velocities have x and y components

 Momentum is conserved in the x direction and in the
y direction
 Apply conservation of momentum separately to each
direction mv m v mv m v
1 1ix 2 2 ix 1 1 fx 2 2 fx

m1v1iy  m2 v2iy  m1v1 fy  m2 v2 fy

January 4, 2022
 2-D Collision, example
 Particle 1 is moving at
velocity v1i and
particle 2 is at rest
 In the x-direction, the
initial momentum is
m1v1i
 In the y-direction, the
initial momentum is 0

January 4, 2022
 2-D Collision, example cont
 After the collision, the
momentum in the x-direction is
m1v1f cos  m2v2f cos 
 After the collision, the
momentum in the y-direction is
m1v1f sin  m2v2f sin 
m1v1i  0  m1v1 f cos   m2 v2 f cos 
0  0  m1v1 f sin   m2 v2 f sin 

 If the collision is elastic, apply 1 1 1

m1v12i  m1v12f  m2 v22 f
the kinetic energy equation 2 2 2
January 4, 2022
 Collision at an Intersection
 A car with mass 1.5×103 kg traveling
east at a speed of 25 m/s collides at an
intersection with a 2.5×103 kg van
traveling north at a speed of 20 m/s.
Find the magnitude and direction of
the velocity of the wreckage after the
collision, assuming that the vehicles
undergo a perfectly inelastic collision
and assuming that friction between the
vehicles and the road can be
neglected.
mc  1.5 103 kg , mv  2.5 103 kg
vcix  25m / s, vviy  20m / s, v f  ?  ?

January 4, 2022
 Collision at an Intersection
mc  1.5 103 kg, mv  2.5 103 kg
vcix  25 m/s, vviy  20 m/s, v f  ?  ?

p xi  mc vcix  mv vvix  mc vcix  3.75 104 kg  m/s

p xf  mc vcfx  mv vvfx  (mc  mv )v f cos 

3.75 10 4 kg  m/s  (4.00 103 kg)v f cos 

p yi  mc vciy  mv vviy  mv vviy  5.00 104 kg  m/s

p yf  mc vcfy  mv vvfy  (mc  mv )v f sin 

5.00 10 4 kg  m/s  (4.00  103 kg)v f sin 

January 4, 2022
 Collision at an Intersection
mc  1.5 103 kg , mv  2.5 103 kg
vcix  25m / s, vviy  20m / s, v f  ?  ?

5.00 10 4 kg  m/s  (4.00  103 kg)v f sin 

3.75  10 4 kg  m/s  (4.00 103 kg)v f cos 

5.00 10 4 kg  m / s
tan    1.33
3.75 10 kg  m / s
4

  tan 1 (1.33)  53.1

5.00 10 4 kg  m/s

vf   15.6 m/s
(4.00  10 kg) sin 53.1
3 

January 4, 2022
 Sample Problem
A 1.20kg red ball moving to the right at
17.1 m/s strikes a stationary 2.31 blue
ball. If the final velocity of the red ball is
13.5 m/s at 23.0° above the horizontal,
determine the final velocity of the blue
ball.

Answer: 3.66 m/s at 48.4° below the horizontal

January 4, 2022
 Activity: Problem Solving
1. A 1500-kg car traveling east at 90 km/h and a
3000-kg minivan traveling south at 60 km/h collide
at a perpendicular intersection. Assuming that the
collision is perfectly inelastic, what is the velocity of
the vehicles immediately after collision?
2. A cue ball traveling at 0.75 m/s hits the stationary
8-ball, which moves off with a speed of 0.25 m/s
at an angle of 37° relative to the cue ball’s initial
direction. Assuming that the collision is inelastic, at
what angle will the cue ball be deflected, and what
will be its speed?
January 4, 2022
 Assignment
 Make your own foldables/flip book about
the different types of collisions.
 Use colored paper (short bond paper size)
 The said foldables/flip book must include:
1. Introduction on Collision
2. Description of each type of collision
3. Examples of each type

January 4, 2022