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Physics Lesson 6.7.2 - Conservation of Momentum in Inelastic Collisions
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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Conservation of Momentum in Inelastic Collisions, this is the second lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Law of Conservation of Momentum and Kinetic Energy, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.
Conservation of Momentum in Inelastic Collisions
In inelastic collisions, both objects move at the same velocity after the collision as they are attached to each other. Therefore, we don't need to write v⃗1 and v⃗2 for the respective velocities after the collision but simply v⃗ which expressed the common velocity of the two objects after the collision. Therefore, the equation (5) becomes:
or
Equation 6
m1 × v⃗01 + m2 × v⃗02 = (m1 + m2) × v⃗Equation (6) represents the mathematical expression of the Law of Convervation of Momentum in Inelastic Collisions.
Example 2
A 40 kg boy jumps at 3 m/s on a 120 kg raft anchored at the shore as shown in the figure below. What is the velocity of the boat immediately after the boy jumps of it?
Solution 2
This is a kind of inelastic collision as both the boy and the raft move together after he jumps on it. We can write the following clues based on the info provided in the problem:
m2 = 120 kg
v01 = 3 m/s
v02 = 0
v = ?
Applying the equation (6) on conservation of momentum for inelastic collisions
we obtain after substitutions
120 = 160 × v⃗
v⃗ = 120/160 = 0.75 m/s
This result means both the boy and the raft move together due right at 0.75 m/s after he jumps on it.
You have reached the end of Physics lesson 6.7.2 Conservation of Momentum in Inelastic Collisions. There are 3 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Law of Conservation of Momentum and Kinetic Energy, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.
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