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CLASS : VIII

PHYSICS

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RAOS I I T STUDY CIRCLE


VIJAYAWADA [ Inertia types of inertia Examples; Newtons laws of motion Force, Momentum, Impulse, Collision ] INERTIA Galileo and the Concept of Inertia Galileo, a premier scientist in the seventeenth century, developed the concept of inertia. Galileo reasoned that moving objects eventually stop because of a force called friction. In experiments using a pair of inclined planes facing each other, Galileo observed that a ball will roll down one plane and up the opposite plane to approximately the same height. If smoother planes were used, the ball would roll up the opposite plane even closer to the original height. Galileo reasoned that any difference between initial and final heights was due to the presence of friction. Galileo postulated that if friction could be entirely eliminated, then the ball would reach exactly the same height. Galileo further observed that regardless of the angle at which the planes were oriented, the final height was almost always equal to the initial height. If the slope of the opposite incline was reduced, then the ball would roll a further distance in order to reach that original height.

Galileo's reasoning continued - if the opposite incline was elevated at nearly a 0-degree angle, then the ball would roll almost forever in an effort to reach the original height. And if the opposing incline was not even inclined at all (that is, if it were oriented along the horizontal) , then ... an object in motion would continue in motion... .

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CLASS : VIII

PHYSICS Forces Don't Keep Objects Moving

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Isaac Newton built on Galileo's thoughts about motion. Slide a book across a table and watch it slide to a rest position. The book in motion on the table top does not come to a rest position because of the absence of a force; rather it is the presence of a force - that force being the force of friction - which brings the book to a rest position. In the absence of a force of friction, the book would continue in motion with the same speed and direction - forever! (Or at least to the end of the table top.) A force is not required to keep a moving book in motion. In actuality, it is a force which brings the book to rest.

Mass as a Measure of the Amount of Inertia All objects resist changes in their state of motion. All objects have this tendency - they have inertia. But do some objects have more of a tendency to resist changes than others? Absolutely yes! The tendency of an object to resist changes in its state of motion varies with mass. Mass is that quantity which is solely dependent upon the inertia of an object. The more inertia which an object has, the more mass it has. A more massive object has a greater tendency to resist changes in its state of motion. Suppose that there are two seemingly identical bricks at rest on the physics lecture table. Yet one brick consists of mortar and the other brick consists of Styrofoam. Without lifting the bricks, how could you tell which brick was the Styrofoam brick? You could give the bricks an identical push in an effort to change their state of motion. The brick which offers the least resistance is the brick with the least inertia - and therefore the brick with the least mass (i.e., the Styrofoam brick). A common physics demonstration relies on this principle that the more massive the object, the more that object tends to resist changes in its state of motion. The demonstration goes as follows: several massive books are placed upon a teacher's head. A wooden board is placed on top of the books and a hammer is used to drive a nail into the board. Due to the large mass of the books, the force of the hammer is sufficiently resisted (inertia). This is demonstrated by the fact that the hammer blow is not felt by the teacher. (Of course, this story may explain many of the observations which you previously have made concerning your "weird physics teacher.") A common variation of this demonstration involves braking a brick over the teacher's hand using the swift blow of a hammer. The massive bricks resist the force and the hand is not hurt. (CAUTION: do not try these demonstrations at home.)

Inertia and Mass


Newton's first law of motion states that "An object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force." RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 2

CLASS : VIII

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Objects tend to "keep on doing what they're doing." In fact, it is the natural tendency of objects to resist changes in their state of motion. This tendency to resist changes in their state of motion is described as inertia. Inertia: the resistance an object has to a change in its state of motion. In other words, the law states that if an object is motionless, it will stay motionless unless acted upon by some force. Likewise, if an object is moving at a constant speed or velocity, it will continue at that speed unless acted upon by some force along the line of motion. And finally, if an object is moving, it will move in a straight line unless acted upon at an angle by some force. This law is important in defining how things behave around us. Questions you may have include: (i) Why do objects remain motionless? (ii) Why do things continue moving? (iii) Why do objects go in straight lines? Another way of stating this law in more detail is: If an object is motionless, it will stay motionless unless acted upon by some force. If an object is moving at a constant speed or velocity, it will continue at that speed unless acted upon by some force along the line of motion. If an object is moving, it will move in a straight line unless acted upon at an angle by some force. The Law of Inertia assumes there is no friction or other resistive force that can slow down an object. Inertia can be best demonstrated in outer space. Newton's conception of inertia stood in direct opposition to more popular conceptions about motion. The dominant thought prior to Newton's day was that it was the natural tendency of objects to come to a rest position. Moving objects, so it was believed, would eventually stop moving; a force was necessary to keep an object moving. But if left to itself, a moving object would eventually come to rest and an object at rest would stay at rest; thus, the idea which dominated people's thinking for nearly 2000 years prior to Newton was that it was the natural tendency of all objects to assume a rest position.

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CLASS : VIII

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The behavior of all objects can be described by saying that objects tend to "keep on doing what they're doing" (unless acted upon by an unbalanced force). If at rest, they will continue in this same state of rest. If in motion with an eastward velocity of 5 m/s, they will continue in this same state of motion (5 m/s, East). If in motion with a leftward velocity of 2 m/s, they will continue in this same state of motion (2 m/s, left). The state of motion of an object is maintained as long as the object is not acted upon by an unbalanced force. All objects resist changes in their state of motion - they tend to "keep on doing what they're doing." Object stays motionless The Law of Inertia states that objects that are not moving will remain motionless, unless you apply a force on them. This law of nature makes sure things will stay where you put them. It requires that you provide a push or pull to get something moving. A trick using inertia There is the parlor trick that you may have seen where a person quickly pulls a tablecloth from under a setting of heavy dishes or some other objects. If it is does correctly, the objects remain in place on the table after the tablecloth is pulled from under them. This trick works because the inertia of the heavy objects tends to keep them in place. By quickly pulling the tablecloth, the force of friction is easily overcome. If the tablecloth was pulled slowly, the friction would be greater than the inertia, and the dishes would follow along. (Note: The tablecloth must be pulled down at the edge, otherwise the dishes or objects may fly upward.) Object will continue motion Once you start an object moving, it will keep moving unless you apply a force in the opposite direction to slow it down. Typically, the force of friction will slow things down. But in outer space, where friction is almost zero, an object will move at its given velocity forever unless acted upon by some external force. If you push a moving object in the direction of motion, it will accelerate to a new velocity. Once you stop pushing, the object will continue at the velocity it had once you stopped pushing. Things move in straight lines The Law of Inertia states that moving objects go in a straight line. You must apply a force on an object to make it go in a circular motion. For example, when you spin an object around on a string, you are applying a force on that object from the string to make it go around. Once you let the string (or the force) go, the object will fly off in a straight line. Likewise, the Moon is attracted to the Earth by the force of gravity. That force is just enough to make the Moon spin around the Earth. If gravity would stop, the Moon would fly off in a straight line into outer space.

RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7

CLASS : VIII

PHYSICS Everyday Applications of Newton's First Law

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Suppose that you filled a baking dish to the rim with water and walked around an oval track making an attempt to complete a lap in the least amount of time. The water would have a tendency to spill from the container during specific locations on the track. In general the water spilled when: the container was at rest and you attempted to move it the container was in motion and you attempted to stop it the container was moving in one direction and you attempted to change its direction. The water spills whenever the state of motion of the container is changed. The water resisted this change in its own state of motion. The water tended to "keep on doing what it was doing." The container was moved from rest to a high speed at the starting line; the water remained at rest and spilled onto the table. The container was stopped near the finish line; the water kept moving and spilled over container's leading edge. The container was forced to move in a different direction to make it around a curve; the water kept moving in the same direction and spilled over its edge. The behavior of the water during the lap around the track can be explained by Newton's first law of motion. Have you ever experienced inertia (resisting changes in your state of motion) in an automobile while it is braking to a stop? The force of the road on the locked wheels provides the unbalanced force to change the car's state of motion, yet there is no unbalanced force to change your own state of motion. Thus, you continue in motion, sliding along the seat in forward motion. A person in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction ... unless acted upon by the unbalanced force of a seat belt. Yes! Seat belts are used to provide safety for passengers whose motion is governed by Newton's laws. The seat belt provides the unbalanced force which brings you from a state of motion to a state of rest. Perhaps you could speculate what would occur when no seat belt is used. Blood rushes from your head to your feet while quickly stopping when riding on a descending elevator. The head of a hammer can be tightened onto the wooden handle by banging the bottom of the handle against a hard surface. A brick is painlessly broken over the hand of a physics teacher by slamming it with a hammer. (CAUTION: do not attempt this at home!) To dislodge ketchup from the bottom of a ketchup bottle, it is often turned upside down and thrusted downward at high speeds and then abruptly halted. Headrests are placed in cars to prevent whiplash injuries during rear-end collisions. While riding a skateboard (or wagon or bicycle), you fly forward off the board when hitting a curb or rock or other object which abruptly halts the motion of the skateboard.

Balanced and Unbalanced Forces


But what exactly is meant by the phrase unbalanced force? What is an unbalanced force? In pursuit of an answer, we will first consider a physics book at rest on a table top. There are two forces acting upon the book. One force - the Earth's gravitational pull - exerts a downward force. RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 5

CLASS : VIII PHYSICS STUDY MATERIAL The other force - the push of the table on the book (sometimes referred to as a normal force) pushes upward on the book.

Since these two forces are of equal magnitude and in opposite directions, they balance each other. The book is said to be at equilibrium. This means that (i) if the object is not moving then it will continue to stay still. (ii) if the object is already moving then it will continue to move with a constant velocity. Part (ii) goes against common sense. If all the forces which act on an object along the same line are equal and opposite, then when you add them up they all come to zero and the forces are called balanced.

The cube in the picture above has two forces pulling in opposite directions. The overall force is 5 - 5 Newtons = 0 N. The forces are balanced We know that in the "real world" things slow down and stop if there is nothing to keep them going. Newton understood that there is a force which makes things slow down and stop. It is called friction. There is no unbalanced force acting upon the book and thus the book maintains its state of motion. When all the forces acting upon an object balance each other, the object will be at equilibrium; it will not accelerated. (Note: diagrams such as the one above are known as free-body diagrams ) Consider another example involving balanced forces - a person standing upon the ground. There are two forces acting upon the person. The force of gravity exerts a downward force. The floor of the floor exerts an upward force. Since these two forces are of equal magnitude and in opposite directions, they balance each other. The person is at equilibrium. There is no unbalanced force acting upon the person and thus the person maintains its state of motion. The force of gravity pulling downward and the force of the table pushing upwards on the book are of equal magnitude and opposite directions. These two forces balance each other. Yet RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 6

CLASS : VIII PHYSICS STUDY MATERIAL there is no force present to balance the force of friction. As the book moves to the right, friction acts to the left to slow the book down. There is an unbalanced force; and as such, the book changes its state of motion. The book is not at equilibrium and subsequently accelerates. Unbalanced forces cause accelerations. In this case, the unbalanced force is directed opposite the book's motion and will cause it to slow down. To determine if the forces acting upon an object are balanced or unbalanced, an analysis must first be conducted to determine what forces are acting upon the object and in what direction. If two individual forces are of equal magnitude and opposite direction, then the forces are said to be balanced. An object is said to be acted upon by an unbalanced force only when there is an individual force which is not being balanced by a force of equal magnitude and in the opposite direction .

Newton's Second Law


The second law is sometimes called the Law of Dynamics, because it concerns forces and what causes objects to move. It can be stated as: The acceleration of an object of constant mass is proportional to the force acting upon it. Newton's Second Law says that if the forces on an object are unbalanced then its motion will change. The bigger the force, the bigger the change in motion. Forces which act along a straight line can be added if the forces are in the same direction, or subtracted if the forces are in the opposite direction.

In the above example, the forces can be added producing an unbalanced force of 10 N pointing to the left. A change in motion is called acceleration. Acceleration is the changing of the velocity of the object. Usually, we are talking about the object speeding up. The word "deceleration" is usually used when the object is slowing down, but that also is acceleration or changing of the velocity. A force is a push or pull on the object. It may pushing in direct contact or pulling at a distance in the case of gravity. This law determines the relationship between force, mass and acceleration, which is

F = ma
where: F is the applied force; m is the constant mass; a is the resulting acceleration RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 7

CLASS : VIII

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Note that the force F and acceleration a are in the same direction. Since they have a direction, they are called vectors. What this law says is that while you are applying a force on an object, it will continue to accelerate or change its velocity. It also states that the greater the force on an object, the greater the acceleration.

In the example below, the forces are unbalanced even though they are in opposite directions because one is bigger than the other. The unbalanced (overall) force is 25 - 5 N = 20 N. This will cause a change in motion, called acceleration. Effects of Acceleration. If the object above is not moving, the unbalanced force will start to move it to the left. If it is already moving to the left, the unbalanced force will make it move faster. If it is already moving to the right, the unbalanced force will make it move slower.

Newton's Third Law


Newton's Third Law is sometimes called the Law of Reciprocal Actions or the Action-Reaction Law: Whenever one body exerts force upon a second body, the second body exerts an equal and opposite force upon the first body. This is often stated as: "For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction." Pushing against something Suppose you push on a wall with a certain force. Since the wall is stationary, your force is reflected back against your hands. The force you apply is the same force that is applied to your hands. Now if you are wearing roller skates, and you push on the wall with a certain force, you will move backward as if that same force was applied to you. Suppose you push on a large box that is on the floor. If the friction between the box and the floor is greater than the force you are applying, then the equal force will be pushing on your hands. But if the resistive force of friction is less than your force, the box will slide along the floor. The force on will be the force you applied minus the force of friction. There are two kinds of forces: Contact Forces - involve physical contact between objects. Examples: the force involved in kicking a ball, pulling a wagon, compressing a spring, etc. RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 8

CLASS : VIII PHYSICS STUDY MATERIAL Field forces - don't involve physical contact between objects. Examples: the gravitational force and the electromagnetic force. Forces can change :the speed of an object; the direction that an object is moving in the shape of an object.

Add Second Law to Third Law We can also add Newton's Second Law to the Third Law. If you and a friend are on roller skates or ice skates and facing each other, and then you push on your friend with a certain force, your friend will be accelerated backwards according to F = ma. But because of Newton's Third Law, your push causes an equal opposite push on you. So you will also accelerate backwards. The force you apply on your friend is F = ma. So, the acceleration (a) of your friend's motion is dependent on the force you push (F) and his or her mass (m). But also, that same force is applied on you. Suppose we call your mass (M) and your acceleration (A). Then since the forces are the same MA = ma. If your weight (or mass) is twice that of your friend, then your friend would move back twice as fast as you. Rocket Flying Hot gases are forced downwards through the rocket's jets which pushes the body of the rocket upwards. This is an example of Newton's Third Law. The bigger the downward blast of gas, the bigger the force (thrust) pushing the rocket upwards. The downward force (called "drag" or "air resistance") is an example of friction. It comes from the air pushing against the rocket as it moves. The faster the rocket moves, the bigger the drag because the air must be pushed out of the way at a faster rate. (There is also a contribution to the downward force from the weight of the rocket). When the rocket takes off, there is a large thrust from the engine but very little drag because the rocket is moving slowly and air resistance is small. The forces are unbalanced (large upward force, small downward force) and so the rocket has a large acceleration in the direction of the larger force (upwards). As the rocket gets faster, the drag increases and acceleration decreases until the thrust and drag are equal in size. Now the forces are balanced and the rocket will continue with a constant velocity. The motion of the rocket is shown on the velocity - time graph below. The red curve shows acceleration changing from large to small. The blue line shows constant velocity. RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 9

CLASS : VIII

PHYSICS Cone falling from a Cliff.

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When the cone first falls, there is a force from the weight of the cone but very little drag because the cone is moving slowly and air resistance is small. The forces are unbalanced (large downward force, small upward force) and so the cone has a large acceleration in the direction of the larger force (downwards)

As the cone gets faster, the drag increases and acceleration decreases until the weight and drag are equal in size. Now the forces are balanced and the cone will continue to fall with a constant velocity called its terminal velocity (this is as fast as the falling object can go). The red curve shows acceleration changing from large to small. The blue line shows the cone's terminal velocity (constant velocity). You may have noticed that all things fall with the same acceleration, so if both a rupee and a cone were thrown from a cliff at the same time, they would both hit the ground at the same time. Things will fall noticeably slower if (i) their density is close to the density of air (for example a feather) or (ii) they have a large air resistance in proportion to their weight (for example a parachute). Stationary Car. The forces on a stationary car are shown below. The weight of the car is the force pushing downward on the road. Newton's Third Law tells us that the weight of the car is opposed by an equal and opposite force pushing upward from the road. This is called the reactive force.

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The forces are balanced which satisfies Newton's First Law for a stationary object. There are no other forces acting on the car. Moving Car. The forces acting on a moving car are thrust and drag as well as the same forces which act on a stationary car. Drag is the force of air resistance (friction) pushing against the front of the car while it is moving. Thrust is the force pushing the car forwards. Thrust comes from the engine turning the wheels. Tyres on the wheels push backwards against the road as they try to turn, causing an equal and opposite force which pushes the car forwards. The tyres must have good grip (high friction) so that they do not slip on the road surface. If the forces of thrust and drag are equal, then the forces are balanced and the car will move with a constant velocity. If the forces of thrust and drag are not equal, then the forces are unbalanced and the car will accelerate. It will get faster if thrust is bigger than drag, and slower if drag is bigger than thrust. The most important friction occurs between the tyres and the road surface. If the road is wet or icy, then friction is reduced and the car will take longer to stop or the tyres will slip (skid). The tread on the tyre makes water on the surface of the road go up into the grooves and then throws the water out sideways to get it out from under the tyre. If the tread is not deep enough, the tyre can not remove surface water quickly and the tyre will ride up on top of the water and loose contact with the road (called aquaplaning). After the road surface and tyre condition, the next most important friction occurs between the brakes and the wheels. If the brakes are not seriously worn or malfunctioning, then friction here is usually very good because of modern brake design and materials. Friction occurs where two solid objects rub against each other, or where a liquid or gas is pushed out of the way of a moving object. RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 11

CLASS : VIII PHYSICS STUDY MATERIAL For two solid objects, the amount of friction depends on how well the surfaces grip each other. Tyres on a road have very high friction (they don't slip), skates on ice have very low friction (they slip easily). For a solid object moving through a liquid or gas, the amount of friction depends on the shape and surface area of the object and the viscosity (thickness or thinness) of the liquid. For an object moving through air, friction is called "air resistance" or "drag". A parachute will have a very high air resistance, a missile will have a very low air resistance.

An object moving through a high viscosity liquid (syrup) will have high friction (drag), an object moving through a low viscosity liquid (water) will have a low friction (drag). Friction can be good. Is friction good or bad?

When we walk we push backwards against the ground, the opposing force pushes us forwards. Without friction our feet would slip and walking would be impossible. It has been shown previously that a car is moved forwards by the wheels which try to turn and push against the road. The direction of the forces are the same as above for a man walking. Without friction a car could not move forwards, a moving car could not be steered or stopped. There are many examples where friction is a necessary force in the world in which we live. Friction can be bad. Whenever an object (bicycle, car, train) is moving, friction provides an opposing force which tries to slow the object down. The largest force is air resistance. This is friction caused by the moving object pushing the air out of its way. Air resistance can be reduced by changing the shape of the object so that it can push the air away more easily. This is called streamlining. The faster an object is moving, the more air resistance it meets and so streamlining becomes more important. A rocket is more streamline than a bus. A small friction force comes from mechanical surfaces rubbing over each other in engines and wheel bearings. This friction is kept small by lubricating the surfaces (oil them).

Momentum
Momentum is a commonly used term in sports. A team that has the momentum is on the move and is going to take some effort to stop. A team that has a lot of momentum is really on the move and is going to be hard to stop. Momentum is a physics term; it refers to the quantity of motion that an object has. A sports team which is on the move has the momentum. If an object is in motion (on the move) then it has momentum. Momentum can be defined as "mass in motion." All objects have mass; so if an object is moving, then it has momentum - it has its mass in motion. The amount of momentum which an object has is dependent upon two variables: how much stuff is moving and how fast the stuff is moving. Momentum depends upon the variables mass and velocity. In terms of an equation, the momentum of an object is equal to the mass of the object times the velocity of the object. RAOS IIT STUDY CIRCLE, Vijayawada 7 12

CLASS : VIII

PHYSICS Momentum = mass velocity

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In physics, the symbol for the quantity momentum is the lower case "p". Thus, the above equation can be rewritten as p = m v where m is the mass and v is the velocity. The equation illustrates that momentum is directly proportional to an object's mass and directly proportional to the object's velocity. The units for momentum would be mass units times velocity units. The standard metric unit of momentum is the kgm/s. While the kgm/s is the standard metric unit of momentum, there are a variety of other units which are acceptable (though not conventional) units of momentum. Examples include kgmi/hr, kgkm/hr, and gcm/s. In each of these examples, a mass unit is multiplied by a velocity unit to provide a momentum unit. This is consistent with the equation for momentum. Momentum is a vector quantity. As discussed in an earlier unit, a vector quantity is a quantity which is fully described by both magnitude and direction. To fully describe the momentum of a 5-kg bowling ball moving westward at 2 m/s, you must include information about both the magnitude and the direction of the bowling ball. It is not enough to say that the ball has 10 kgm/s of momentum; the momentum of the ball is not fully described until information about its direction is given. The direction of the momentum vector is the same as the direction of the velocity of the ball. In a previous unit, it was said that the direction of the velocity vector is the same as the direction which an object is moving. If the bowling ball is moving westward, then its momentum can be fully described by saying that it is 10 kgm/s, westward. As a vector quantity, the momentum of an object is fully described by both magnitude and direction. From the definition of momentum, it becomes obvious that an object has a large momentum if either its mass or its velocity is large. Both variables are of equal importance in determining the momentum of an object. Consider a truck and a roller skate moving down the street at the same speed. The considerably greater mass of the truck gives it a considerably greater momentum. Yet if the truck were at rest, then the momentum of the least massive roller skate would be the greatest. The momentum of any object which is at rest is 0. Objects at rest do not have momentum - they do not have any "mass in motion." Both variables - mass and velocity - are important in comparing the momentum of two objects.

Impulse
The impulse of a force (also measured in N s) is equal to the change in momentum of a body which a force causes. This is also equal to the magnitude of the force multiplied by the length of time the force is applied. Impulse = change in momentum = force time Conservation of Momentum

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CLASS : VIII PHYSICS STUDY MATERIAL When there is a collision between two objects, Newton's Third Law states that the force on one of the bodies is equal and opposite to the force on the other body. Therefore, if no other forces act on the bodies (in the direction of collision), then the total momentum of the two bodies will be unchanged. Hence the total momentum before collision in a particular direction = total momentum after in a particular direction. The conservation is an important principle in physics that allows us to determine what happens in collisions or explosions. If a body A of mass mA and velocity uA collides with another body B of mass mB and velocity vB moving in the same direction. If A exerts a force F to the right on B for a time t then by Newton's third law, body B will exert an equal and opposite force to the left on A also for a time t but to the left. Thus the bodies receive equal but opposite impulse Ft. The changes of momentum must be equal and opposite. Therefore, the total momentum change is zero. In other words, the total momentum of A and B together remains constant. In mathematical terms:

mAuA+ mBuB= mAvA+ mBvB


This is the general case. For motion in 1-dimension, we can consider the momenta in one direction only which allows us to drop the vector notation. It is important to release that the momentum is conserved only when there are no external agent acting on the system that could add momentum to the system. They must be included in the system before the conservation of momentum can be applied. A good example of this is a ball that is dropped from a height. If we are considering the ball alone, then the momentum is mbvb before the ball collides and -mbvb when the ball hits the Earth. The change in momentum is 2mbvb not zero. It appears to gain momentum from nowhere. However, we need to consider the change in momentum of the Earth. It moves with a velocity vE after the collision. The conservation of momentum, mbvb + mE.0 = mb(-v)b+mEvE. The Earth has to gain the same momentum as the ball but because the mass of the Earth is so large, the movement is unmeasurable. Explosions In an explosion, the inital momentum is zero, after the explosion the outgoing pieces move out in opposite directions so the momentum is conserved. The idea of an explosion is replicated somewhat less dramatical with two trolleys A and B with masses m A and mB respectively, which are initially held together. Momentum is given to the trolleys by a compressed spring. When the spring is released the momentum is given to the trolleys which move apart in opposite directions. Applying the conservation of momentum, the momentum before the explosion is 0 since neither trolley is moving and after the explosion the momentum is m AvA-mBvB. Therefore, the change in momentum is mAvA-mB-0 or mAvA=mBvB.

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