PHYSICAL SCIENCES

KNOWLEDGE AREA: MECHANICS

GRADE 12
TOPIC: MOMENTUM
QUESTION 4
MARKS: +/- 10
IMPORTANT DOCUMENTS
CAPS DOCUMENT
ATP
EXAM GUIDELINE
DIAGNOSTIC REPORT
NB: 1. ENCOURAGE AND MOTIVATE YOUR LEARNERS.
2. PROMOTE ENGLISH ACROSS CURRICULUM.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The current Grade 12 cohort was deprived an
opportunity to cover the Grade 10 and 11
content. They were severely hit by Covid-19
pandemic.
Grade 12 teachers are expected to close all
the identified content gaps.
Teachers are the most central cog in our
education system.
The system cannot do without YOU
COLLEAGUES.
 LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
• Define momentum.
• Define change in momentum.
• State the law of conservation of momentum
and apply the principle.
• Define impulse.
• State and apply impulse-momentum theorem.
 LESSON OBJECTIVES
• Distinguish between elastic and inelastic
collision.
• Explain how the concept of impulse applies to
safety considerations in everyday life.
• Define an isolated system.
• Interpret graphs on momentum
 What is Momentum?
Momentum may be defined by its equation:

Momentum is a quantity defined

as the product of the mass and
velocity of an object.
 Unit of Momentum
• The equation illustrates that momentum
is directly proportional to an object’s
mass and the object’s velocity.
Momentum’s Proportionality
Momentum’s Proportionality
Momentum’s Proportionality
 Momentum is a vector quantity
• Back to the Bowling Ball: To fully describe the
momentum of a 5 kg bowling ball, moving
westward at 2 m.s-1, you must include both the
magnitude and the direction of the bowling
ball’s momentum. (It would not be enough to
just say the ball has 10 kg.m.s-1 momentum.)
Momentum: Sample Problem
 Changing Momentum
• A change in momentum takes force
and time. To stop an object, it is
necessary to apply a force against its
motion for a given period of time.
• It is a measure of the difficulty
experienced in stopping an object.
 Changing Momentum

In football, the defensive player

applies a force for a given amount
of time to stop the momentum of
the offensive player with the ball.
 Changing Momentum

Serway/Faughn - Physics
 Changing Momentum
• A force is applied to an object to change its
momentum.
• Impulse – the product of the force, and the time
over which the force is applied.

• Impulse – Momentum Theorem – the impulse

experienced by the object equals the change in
momentum
 Change in Momentum
Impulse = ∆p = m(vf – vi)
Impulse momentum theorem:
Fnet = Fnet is the net force
∆p is the change in momentum

∆t is the time interval.

Fnet = m(vf – vi)/∆t

Sample Problem: Force needed for change in
momentum (impulse)
Sample Problem: Force acting on a car while
braking.
Sample Problem: Force acting on a car
while braking.

(The car on the last slide.)

 Changing Momentum
Increasing the time of an impact can reduce the
force of a collision.
This Inupiat (Alaska native people)
Family is playing a traditional game.

The blanket stretches and extends

the time of collision so that the
change in the girl’s momentum
occurs over a longer time interval.

A longer time interval requires a

smaller force to change the girls
momentum, than if she fell directly
to the ground (not a good idea.)
Serway/Faughn - Physics
Skydiver Lisa Boyer fell 3,810 meters
after her parachute failed to open.
She landed in a sludge pond and
survived ---unhurt!
If Boyer had landed on solid ground, she would have
come to a crashing halt in about 0.0001 sec.
The concentrated force of that abrupt landing would
have killed her instantly.
• But she landed in the sludge pond of a sewage
treatment plant. The soft, squishy sludge brought her
body to rest in about 0.03 s ---30 times longer than if
she landed on solid ground.

Falling into sewage sure

is gross, but it beats the
alternative.

• Because the force of the impact was distributed over

this longer time, it was never strong enough to cause
serious injury.
(Science World)
Window washer Chris Saggers fell 22 stories to the roof a
car. He walked away with only a broken elbow. If he had hit
the roof feet first, the force would have been focused in a
small area, shattered his legs, and driven the bones into his
spine.
But Saggers landed sprawled out, with the force of impact
distributed evenly over his body. (Science World)
The car roof crumpled
so it lengthen the
time of the impact.
Conservation of linear Momentum
The total momentum of all objects
interacting with one another remains
constant regardless of the nature of the
forces between the objects.
Soccer Ball Collision & Conservation of linear
Momentum
Soccer Ball Collision & Conservation of linear
Momentum
Elastic Collision
Conservation of Momentum & Collisions

• In every interaction between two

isolated objects, the change in
momentum of the first object is
equal and opposite to the change in
momentum of the second object.
• ∆p = -∆p ( Newton’s 3rd Law)
Conservation of linear Momentum &
Collisions
Conservation of linear Momentum &
Collisions – Boater Problem
Conservation of linear Momentum &
Collisions – Boater Problem
 Types of Collisions
• Perfectly inelastic collisions – When
two objects collide and move
together as one mass ---they stick
together after the collision. (like a
meteorite and the earth)
• Total kinetic energy after collision is
less than before collision.
 Types of Collisions
• Perfectly inelastic collisions
 Types of Collisions
Elastic collision: two objects collide and
return to their original shapes with no
change in kinetic energy. Here again,
the total momentum remains constant.
Types of Collisions
Types of Collisions
Types of Collisions
 Pendulum
During an investigation a police officer fires a
bullet of mass 15 g into a stationary wooden
block, of mass 5 kg, suspended from a long,
strong cord. The bullet remains stuck in the
block and the block-bullet system swings to a
height of 15 cm above the equilibrium
position, as shown below. (Effects of friction
and the mass of the cord may be ignored.)
Pendulum
 Pendulum
1. State the law of conservation of momentum in words.
2. Use energy principles to show that the magnitude of the
velocity of the block-bullet system is 1,71 m·s-1
immediately after the bullet struck the block.
3. Calculate the magnitude of the velocity of the bullet just
before it strikes the block.
4. The police officer is pushed slightly backwards by the
butt of the rifle, which he is holding against his
shoulder, whilst firing the rifle. Use the relevant law of
motion to explain why this happens.
 Solutions
1. The total linear momentum in an isolated system is
conserved.
OR
If no net external force acts on a system of particles, the total
linear momentum of the system cannot change.
2. (U+K)bottom = (U + K)top
0 + ½ (m1+m2 ) = mgh + 0
½ (0,015 + 5)(vf2) = (0,015 + 5)(9,8)(0,15)
∴ vf = 1,71 m∙s -1
 Solutions
3. ∑p(before) =∑p(after)
m1vi1 +m2vi2 = (m1 + m2)vf
(0,015)vi1 + 0 =( 0,015 + 5)(1,71)
∴ vi1 = 571,71 m∙s-1

4. According to Newton’s third law, the gun will exert a

force on the bullet and the bullet will exert an equal but
opposite force on the gun. The force of the gun on the
officer pushes him slightly backwards.
 TYPICAL EXAM QUESTION
The graph below shows how the momentum of
car A changes with time just before and just
after a head-on collision with car B. Car A has a
mass of 1500 kg, while the mass of car B is 900
kg. Car B was travelling at a constant velocity of
15 m.s-1 west before the collision. Take east as
positive and consider the system as isolated.
Graph
 Questions
2.1 What do you understand by the term
isolated system as used in physics? (2)
Use the information in the graph to answer the
following questions:
Calculate the:
2.2.1 Magnitude of the velocity of car A just
before the collision. (3)
 Questions
2.2.2 Velocity of car B just after the collision. (6)
2.2.3 The average net force acting on car A
during the collision. (5)
 Solutions
2.1 A system which is not acted upon by external
forces. OR a system that has no net external
forces acting on it.
2.2.1 p = mv
30000 = 1500.v
v = 20 m.s-1
 Solutions
2.2.2 ∑pbefore = ∑pafter
mAvi + mBvi = mAvf + mBvf
(30000) + (900)(-15) = (14000) + (900)vf
vf = 2,78 m.s-1 East
 Solutions
2.2.3 Fnet ∆t = mvf - mvi
Fnet (0,1) = (14000) – (30000)
Fnet = -160 000 N
Fnet = 160 000 N west.
THE END

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