Momentum:
A moving object has momentum which is defined by the equation:
p = mv
Momentum is defined as the product of mass and velocity
Where:
o p = momentum in kilogram meter per second (kg m/s)
o m = mass in kilograms (kg)
o v = velocity in meter per second (m/s)
This means that an object at rest (i.e v = 0) has no momentum
The units of momentum are kg m/s (the units of mass multiplied by the units of velocity)
Momentum is a vector quantity – it has direction as well as magnitude. This means that
momentum can be negative as well as positive:
o If an object travelling to the right has positive momentum, an object travelling in the
opposite direction (to the left) will have negative momentum
Conservation of Momentum:
The principle of conservation of momentum states that:
‘In a closed system, the total momentum before an event is equal to the total
momentum after the event.’
In other words:
The total momentum before a collision = The total momentum after a collision
In the above diagram the total momentum before and the total momentum after must be
equal:
m×u = M×V- m×v
Note that because the red ball is travelling to the left after the collision, its momentum will
be negative – hence the minus sign in the above equation
Impulse
When a resultant (unbalanced) force acts on a mass, the momentum of that mass will
change
The impulse of a force is equal to that force multiplied by the time for which it acts:
Impulse = F × t
SI unit: Ns
impulse = change in momentum
