LESSON 4

The definition and S.I. unit of

momentum

Phenomenon The value of

momentum The Principle Of Conservation Of
A bullet travels at very Large Momentum
high velocity
A lorry which has a large Large The Principle of conservation of momentum
mass states that
“ The total momentum of a system is always
Conclusion : Momentum of an object is fixed if there is no external force acting on
defined as the the system”
product of its . or “ In any collision or interaction between
……………….and…………… two or more objects in an isolated system ,
the total momentum of the system will
or momentum = mass x velocity remain constant ; that is the total
p =mv momentum before collision will be equal to
the total momentum after the collision”
The S.I . units of momentum is kgms-1 or Ns

Momentum is a vector quantity. Types of collision

There are two types of collision , that is
(i) Inelastic collision
Example 1 (ii) Elastic collision

A bullet of mass 0.01k g moves with a Inelastic collision

velocity
200 m s-1. What is the momentum of the In inelastic collision , after two objects
bullet? moving with their respective velocities
do collide, they stick together and move
Solution with a common velocity.

Example 2

A trolley of mass 1.5 kg moves with a

velocity 4 ms-1 hits a wall and rebounds
along the initial direction with a velocity
3 ms-1 .Calculate
Based on The Principle Of Conservation
(i) The initial momentum
Of Momentum,
(ii) The final momentum
(iii) The change of momentum
The total momentum = The total
Solution
momentum
before collision after collision

=
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Example 3
A trolley of mass 1 kg and moving with a
velocity of 6 ms-1 collides with a stationary
trolley with a mass 3 kg . After collision they
stick together with a common velocity. What
is their common velocity?
Solution
Example 5
A trolley of mass trolley 2 kg and moving
with a velocity
0.6 ms-1 and collides with a stationary
trolley with a mass 1kg . After collision the
trolley of mass 2kg and moving with a
velocity 0.2 ms-1. What is the velocity of the
trolley of mass
1 kg after collision?

Example 4 Solution

A trolley of mass trolley M kg and moving

with a velocity
4 ms-1 and collides with a trolley of mass 1
kg and moving in opposite direction with a
velocity 2 ms-1 . After collision they stick
together with a common velocity 2 ms-1.
What is the value of M?

Solution Example 6

Elastic collision
Based on the figure above, what is the
In elastic collision , after two objects (a) value of x
moving with their respective velocities (b) direction of motion of the ball with a
do collide, those two objects will mass 2 kg after collision
separate and move with different
velocities. Solution

Explosion
Based on The Principle Of Conservation
Of Momentum,

The total momentum = The total

momentum
before collision after collision
In explosion, two objects are initially
= at rest and after explosion those two
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 objects will separate and move in
opposite directions.

Based on The Principle Of Conservation

Of Momentum,

The total momentum = The total

momentum
before explosion after with a common with different
explosion velocity velocities
Total amount of Total amount of
= kinetic energy is kinetic energy is
not conserved conserved
=
The Applications of the Principle of
Conservation of Momentum in rockets
Example 7 or jet engines .

A bullet of mass 0.05 kg is shot out from a Rocket Engine

gun of mass 1.5 kg.
If the recoil velocity of the gun is 2 ms-1,what
is the velocity of the bullet ?

Solution

Example 8

A boy of mass 60 kg and a girl of mass 40

kg stand facing each other on a skating rink.
The girl pushes the boy and he moves Jet Engine
backwards at 2 ms-1 . What is the girl’s
velocity?

Solution

Similarities and Differences between

Inelastic Collision and Elastic Collision A rocket engine carries its fuel with it and
can work in space as well as in atmosphere.
Similarities Two fuels, such as liquid hydrogen and liquid
Total momentum is conserved oxygen burn together explosively and force
Total energy is conserved the gases produced out of the rocket nozzle
Total mass is conserved in high speed and hence produces
downwards momentum.
Following the principle of Conservation of
Differences Momentum, the rocket will propel upwards
with a momentum that is equal to its
previous momentum because momentum is
Inelastic collision Elastic collision
conserved.
Both objects stick Both objects don’t
together after stick together after
collision and move collision and move
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A jet engine uses the same principle of 1 Which of the following is the units of
momentum conservation as the rocket momentum?
engine except that it takes in air to burn the
fuel. So a jet engine will only work in the A Ns B kg ms-2
atmosphere. C kg s-2 D kg-1s-2
In the jet engine, air is sucked into the jet
engine to be compressed and is heated up in 2 A car of mass 800 kg is moving at a
the compressor. The compressed air is then velocity of 50 ms-1 The momentum of the
mixed with fuel which is sprayed so that it car is
starts to burn. The exhaust chamber emits
exhaust gases with a high velocity. This A 0.625 kg ms-1 B 4 kg ms-1
results in a momentum of equal magnitude C 16 kg ms-1 D 850 kg ms-1
but of opposite direction which moves the -1
E 40000 kg ms
aeroplane forward.
3 A ball of mass 0.5 kg hits the wall with a
velocity of
4 ms-1 and bounces back with a
velocity of 3 ms-1. What is the magnitude
of the change of momentum?

A 2.0 Ns B 1.5 Ns
C 0.5 Ns D 3.5 Ns
E 5N

4 The figure above shows two objects A

and B of masses
3 kg and 2 kg respectively moving
towards each other.
Which of the following is not true?
[ The positive sign if moves to the right
and negative sign
if moves to the left ]

A The total of momentum before

collision+ 3 kg ms-1
B The total of momentum after
collision+ 3 kg ms-1
C The momentum of object A before
collision is
+ 15 kg ms-1
D The momentum of object B before
collision is
+ 12 kg ms-1

5 A man of mass 60 kg runs and

suddenly jumps to a trolley of mass 30
kg moves with a velocity of 3 ms-1 in
TUTORI the same direction. After collision the
man and the trolley move together with

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 a common velocity of 7 ms-1 . What is
the velocity of the man before collision? 9 Figure shows a ticker tape was
obtained from an experiment by using
A 3 ms-1 B 5 ms-1 trolley A of mass 2kg and trolley B .
C 7 ms-1 D 9 ms-1 Trolley A is released from one end of
E 12 ms-1 platform so that it moves downwards

6 A bullet of mass 10 g is shot horizontally

wit a velocity of 200 ms-1 so that it hits
an initially stationary block of wood. The
bullet enters the block of wood and they
move together with a common velocity
of 2.0 ms-1 What is the mass of the block
of wood.
and collides with the stationary trolley
B.
If after collision they stick together,
what is the mass of trolley B?

A 860 g B 990 g A 0.5 kg B 1.0 kg

C 1000 g D 1020 g C 1.5 kg D 2.0 kg
E 1440 g E 2.5 kg
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7 Two trolleys of masses 2 kg and 3 kg
respectively moving towards each other.
Both of the trolleys are moving at same
velocity of 2 ms-1. . After collision they
stick together with a common velocity.
What is the common velocity of the
trolleys ?

A 2 ms-1 in the original direction of the

trolley of mass 2kg
B 2 ms-1 in the original direction of the Based on the figure above , what is the
trolley of mass 3kg value of v ?
C 0.4 ms-1 in the opposite direction of
the trolley 2 kg A 2.0 ms-1 B 2.5 ms-1
D 0.4 ms-1 in the opposite direction of
the trolley 3 kg C 3.0 ms-1 D 3.5 ms-1

8 Figure shows two trolleys of equal mass , E 4.0 ms-1

m.

If after collision they stick together, 11 Two objects P and Q of masses 0.8 kg
what is the common velocity of the and 0.6 kg respectively moving towards
trolleys? each other. After collision object P
bounces back with a velocity of 1.6 ms-
A v B v 1
.W
4 2 What is the velocity and the direction of
C v D 2v motion of object Q after collision ?
E 4v
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 A 0.8 ms-1 moves to left If the recoil velocity of the rifle is 1.25
B 0.8 ms-1 moves to right ms-1,what is the velocity of the bullet ?
C 2.2 ms-1 moves to left
D 2.2 ms-1 moves to right A 100 ms-1 B 150 ms-1

12 Two objects M and N of masses 4 kg C 200 ms-1 D 250 ms-1

and 2 kg respectively. Both the objects
travel towards each other with velocities
of 6 ms-1 and 1 ms-1 respectively. After
collision object N moves in the opposite
direction as the object with the velocity
of 5 ms-1. What is the velocity and the
direction of motion of object M after
collision ?
A 3 ms-1 is the same direction as the
object
B 3 ms-1 is the opposite direction as the
object
C 6 ms-1 is same direction as the object
D 6 ms-1 is the opposite direction as the
object
E 300 ms-1
15 The total mass of a bullet and a cannon
is 300 kg.
If the bullet of mass 10 kg is fired from
the cannon , the recoil velocity of the
cannon is 1.5 ms-1 . Calculate the
velocity of the bullet when the bullet is
fired.
A 43.5 ms-1 B 45.0 ms-1
C 50.0 ms-1 D 65.0 ms-1
E 68.5 ms-1
16 A man of mass 50 kg stands on a
stationary boat of mass 25 kg. When he
jumps out of the boat onto a jetty at a
velocity 4 ms-1, calculate the velocity of
the boat as the man jumps.

A 2 ms-1 B 4 ms-1
C 6 ms-1 D 8ms-1
E 10 ms-1

13 Figure shows two identical balls moving

towards each other with velocities u and
collides with a perfect elastic collision.
Which of the following is true after
collision?
Velocity of P Velocity of Q
A Zero Zero 17 The trolleys A and B of masses 2 kg
B Less than u in Less than u in and 4 kg respectively are placed
direction of R direction of S together with the plunger of trolley B
C More than u in More than u in pressed and in contact with trolley A
direction of R direction of S initially .
D Equals to u in Equals to u in When the plunger is released by hitting
direction of R direction of S the pin by a hammer ,the two trolleys
move apart in opposite directions and
14 A bullet of mass 10 g is fired from a collide with the blocks of wood at the
rifle of mass 2 kg. same time. What is the value of d ?
29
 B The elastic collision
A 1.0 m B 2.0 m C The explosion
C 3.0 m D 4.0 m D The linear motion
E 6.0 m
23 Which of the following is true?
18 In an inelastic collision , which of the
following is not A The launching of a rocket can be
conserved? explained by the Newton’s second
law of motion
A Total amount of mass B The fuel normally used in rocket
B Total amount of energy engine is liquid hydrogen
C Total amount of momentum C The air from atmosphere is sucked
D Total amount of mass kinetic energy into the rocket engine
D The total weight of the rocket is
19 An object A of mass 4 kg and moving constant
with a velocity of 20 ms-1 collides with
a stationary object B with a mass 6 kg . 24 A rocket and can work in space as well
After collision they stick together with a as in atmosphere because
common velocity. What of the following
is true ? A the mass of the rocket is less
B the velocity of the rocket is high
A The velocity of object B after C the rocket carries oxygen tank with
collision is 10 ms-1 it
B The total of momentum after collision
is 80 kg ms-1 25 The figure shows a trolley A of mass 1 kg
C The total of kinetic energy before and a stationary trolley B on a friction-
collision is equal to the total of compensated runway.
kinetic energy after collision

When they collide , a pin fixed to one

20 The figure above shows two trolleys A
and B moving towards each other. Which
of the following is true.
trolley sticks into a cork fixed to the
other ,keeping them both together.
A ticker tape below shows clearly the
change of velocity at the moment of
collision.

A An elastic collision will occur

B The total momentum of the system is
conserved
C The total kinetic energy of the
system is conserved
D After collision the two trolleys will
separate and move with different (a)State the type of collision.
velocities.
……………………………………………………
…................
22 Which of the following is not obeys the (b) Before collision , what is
principle of conservation of momentum ?
(i) the velocity of the trolley A
A The inelastic collision

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 (ii) total of momentum.

(c) Calculate the mass of trolley B.

……………………………………………………
…................
(ii) Give one reason for your answer
(d) Find the time taken during collision. in b(i)

……………………………….
(e) Calculate the deceleration of the ………………………................
trolley A during collision?

26

(a) The figure shows two trolleys A and B
of masses
1 kg and 2 kg respectively. The
velocity of trolley A is 5 ms-1 and
trolley B at the rest. After collision
trolley A moves with a velocity 2.5
ms-1 in same direction as before.
27 The above figure shows a bullet of mass
5 g is released from a pistol and hits a
target .
(a) (i) What happens to the pistol
when the
bullet is shot out of the pistol.

(i) What is the type of the collision ………………………………………….........

which will occur between two ..............
trolleys ?
………………………………………………...
.............
…………………………………………………...... (ii) Explain the reason for your
(ii) What is the velocity of the trolley answer in (a)(i)
B after collision.
………………………………………………...
.............
(iii) After collision the trolley B moves
on a rough surface CD and is ……………………………………………......
stopped in 3.2 s . What is the ..............
deceleration of the trolley. (b) If the bullet is shot with a velocity
400 ms-1 and hits the target of
mass 0.495 kg and being
(b) If a small marble is placed on the embedded into it , calculate
trolley A while the trolley B moves (i) The momentum of the bullet
toward trolley B, before hits the target.

(i) What will happen to the trolley A

when collide with trolley B.?
(ii) The common velocity of the
…………………………………………………… bullet and the target.
…................

31
 (iii) The maximum height can
that the bullet and the target
can reach.
28 Figure below shows a man standing on a
stationary boat. He then jumps out of the
boat onto the jetty . The boat moves
away from the jetty as he jumps.
29 Figure 1(a) shows a bullet of mass 0.01
kg before and after being shot out from
a rifle of mass 1.0 kg.
Figure 1(b) shows two trolley of masses
0.5 kg before and after its is hit by the
hammer

(a)

(a) State the physics principle that is

involved in the movement of the boat
as the man jumps onto the jetty.

……………………………………………………
……
(b) Explain why the boat moves away
(b)
from the jetty when the man jumps.
FIGURE 1

Observe the Figure 1(a) and Figure 1(b).

………………………………………………
…………
(a) Before the explosion occurs
(i) state one similarity between
the motions of the objects.
………………………………………………
…………
(c) The mass of the man is 50 kg and he
jumps at a velocity of 2 m s-1 . The …………………………………………………………..
mass of the boat is 20 kg. (ii) the total of momentum of the
Calculate the velocity of the boat as objects
the man jumps.
………………………………………………
………….
(b) After the explosion occurs
(i) state one similarity between
the motions of the objects.
(d) Name one application of the physics
principle stated in (a) in an
exploration of outer space.
…………………………………………………………..
(ii) what is the mathematics sign for
……………………………………………… the velocity
…………… of recoil of the pistol if the bullet
which moves to right is
considered as having positive
sign(+)
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…………………………………………………………..
(iii) the total of momentum of the
objects

………………………………………………
………….
(c) Relate the answers in (a) and (b) to
deduce a concept in physics with
regard to the explosion of the
objects.

………………………………………………………

………………………………………………
………
(d) State one application of the physics
principle
stated in (c)

………………………………………………
…………
(e) What is one physical quantity has
the same as the momentum.

………………………………………………
…………

30 (a) A car of mass 1 000 kg moving at 20

m s-1 collides
with a car of mass 2 000 kg moving
at 5 m s-1 in the same direction. If the
second car is shunted forwards at 15
m s-1 by the impact, what is the
velocity of the first car immediately
after the crash?

(b) If the cars collide head-on at the

same speed as in
(a) , what would their combined
velocity , be after the collision if they
stick together on impact?

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