0.18 Phy1160: force and motion -- momentum, impulse, and conservation

Table of contents

• Preface
  • General
  • Prerequisites
  • Viewing tip
    • Figures
    • Listings
  • Supplemental material
• Discussion
  • Newton's cradle
  • Momentum
  • Impulse
  • The physics of collisions
  • Action and reaction
  • Conservation of momentum
  • Center of mass
    • Location of the center of mass
    • Motion of the center of mass
• Example scenarios
  • Momentum examples
    • A sprinter
    • A truck
    • Change in momentum due to change in speed and direction
    • Change in momentum due to change in speed only
    • Change in momentum due to change in direction only
  • Impulse examples
    • Pushing a wagon part 1
    • Pushing a wagon part 2
    • Pushing a wagon part 3
  • Action and reaction example
  • Conservation of momentum example
  • Center of mass examples
    • Two objects
    • Three objects
• Do the calculations
• Resources
• Miscellaneous

Preface

General

This module is part of a book (or collection) designed to make physics concepts accessible to blind students. The collection is intended to supplement but not to replace thetextbook in an introductory course in high school or college physics.

This module explains momentum, impulse, and the conservation of momentum in a format that is accessible to blind students.

Prerequisites

In addition to an Internet connection and a browser, you will need the following tools (as a minimum) to work through the exercises in these modules:

• A graph board for plotting graphs and vector diagrams ( (External Link) ).
• A protractor for measuring angles ( (External Link) ).
• An audio screen reader that is compatible with your operating system, such as the NonVisual Desktop Access program (NVDA), which is freelyavailable at (External Link) .
• A refreshable Braille display capable of providing a line by line tactile output of information displayed on the computer monitor ( (External Link) ).
• A device to create Braille labels. Will be used to label graphs constructed on the graph board.

The minimum prerequisites for understanding the material in these modules include:

• A good understanding of algebra.
• An understanding of the use of a graph board for plotting graphs and vector diagrams ( (External Link) ).
• An understanding of the use of a protractor for measuring angles ( (External Link) ).
• A basic understanding of the use of sine, cosine, and tangent from trigonometry ( (External Link) ).
• An introductory understanding of JavaScript programming ( (External Link) and (External Link) ).
• An understanding of all of the material covered in the earlier modules in this collection.

Viewing tip

I recommend that you open another copy of this document in a separate browser window and use the following links to easily find and view the figuresand listings while you are reading about them.

Figures

• Figure 1 . Solution results.
• Figure 2 . Change in speed only.
• Figure 3 . Change in direction only.
• Figure 4 . Center of mass for two objects.
• Figure 5 . Center of mass for three objects.

Listings

• Listing 1 . Solution script.
• Listing 2 . Center of mass for two objects.
• Listing 3 . Change to add a third object.