Conservation of Momentum problems are situational. It depends on the number of objects. For example, if two objects collide and stick together they become one object with combined mass, the equation:
Example 1
Two cars travelling in opposite directions crash. Car 1 travelling left at 25 m/s with mass 2400 kg and Car 2 travelling right at 15 m/s with mass 1800 kg.
(a) If the cars stick together, what is their final speed?
(b) If Car 1 bounces back at 5 m/s, what is the final speed of car two and in which direction?
Where does the impulse equation come from?
Example 2
A 2000 kg car is travelling at 20 m/s and stops moving over a 10 second period. What was the magnitude of the average breaking force?
Example 3
A mass of 2 kg is moving at a speed of 10 m/s along a horizontal, frictionless surface. It collides, and sticks, with a 3 kg mass moving in the same direction at 5 m/s.
What is the final velocity of the system after the collision?
What percentage of kinetic energy is lost in the collision?
We have not curated any of hansenator's posts yet. But you can encourage our curation team to review posts by visiting them regularly and by referring other readers. Because we give priority to frequently read content.
