Skip to main content

Understanding Momentum and Center-of-Mass in Classical Mechanics Study Guide

This guide provides a comprehensive overview of momentum conservation and various types of collisions in classical mechanics. Learn about linear momentum, impulse, elastic and inelastic collisions, and how these principles are applied in real-world scenarios and physics problems. It includes detailed explanations of mathematical formulas and worked examples to solidify understanding.

Save this study guide to your study set

Sign up free

Your learning path

Momentum, Collisions, and Energy Conservation

Two-Dimensional Collision and Momentum Conservation

This document illustrates momentum conservation and two-dimensional collision problems in physics involving identical balls on a frictionless horizontal tabletop.

  • momentum conservation
  • two-dimensional collision
  • frictionless horizontal tabletop
  • velocity vectors

Momentum and Center-of-Mass of a System of Particles

This lecture covers the momentum of a system of particles, inertial systems, and the center of mass, including the conservation of momentum when no net external force acts on a system.

  • Momentum of a system of particles
  • Net external forces
  • Inertial system
  • Conservation of momentum
  • Newton's law for a system
  • Center of mass
  • momentum
  • net external force
  • system of particles

Conservation of Momentum and Collisions

This content illustrates the conservation of momentum, impulse, and energy in elastic and inelastic collisions within closed and isolated systems.

  • conservation of momentum
  • conservation of energy
  • impulse
  • elastic collisions
  • inelastic collisions
  • isolated systems
  • closed systems
  • kinetic energy
  • linear momentum
  • Newton's laws
  • momentum in 2D and 3D
  • Inertial frame
  • Completely inelastic collisions
  • momentum conservation
  • energy conservation
  • elastic collision
  • perfectly inelastic collision
  • spring force
  • ballistic pendulum
  • two-dimensional collision

Conservation of Energy, Work, and Potential Energies

This content explores the relationship between kinetic energy, potential energy, work, and power within conservative and non-conservative systems.

  • Kinetic energy
  • Gravitational potential energy
  • Spring potential energy
  • Conservation of energy
  • Conservative systems
  • Work done by gravity
  • Hooke's Law
  • Elastic potential energy
  • Non-conservative forces
  • Friction
  • Energy dissipation
  • Power
  • Instantaneous power
  • Average power

Fundamentals of Forces, Work, and Energy

Conservation of Energy and Non-Conservative Forces

Analysis of a bead sliding around a loop-the-loop using conservation of energy, centripetal force, and the effects of friction.

  • Conservation of energy
  • Kinetic energy
  • Potential energy
  • Centripetal force
  • Non-conservative forces
  • Friction
  • Mechanical energy dissipation

Hooke's Law and Simple Harmonic Motion

This content explores Hooke's Law, restoring forces, and simple harmonic motion using spring-like forces and elastic potential energy.

  • Hooke's Law
  • restoring force
  • simple harmonic motion
  • equilibrium position
  • spring constant
  • elastic potential energy
  • displacement from equilibrium

The Physics Concept of Work

Work is defined as net force multiplied by distance, measured in the MKS unit of the Joule.

  • Work definition
  • Net Force
  • Distance
  • Joule
  • MKS unit
  • Displacement
  • Friction

Physics of Friction, Drag, and Various Forces

This content examines contact forces such as static and kinetic friction, tension, and Hooke's Law, alongside drag force in viscous media and Newton's 3rd Law of Motion.

  • Friction
  • Static friction
  • Kinetic friction
  • Coefficient of static friction
  • Coefficient of kinetic friction
  • Normal force
  • Free body diagram
  • Drag force
  • Terminal velocity
  • Banked curves
  • Centripetal acceleration
  • Tension
  • Hooke's Law
  • Spring constant
  • Free body diagrams

Forces, Work, Energy, and Power

This lecture covers Newton's Laws, work as a dot product of force and displacement, and the relationship between work and various energy types including kinetic, spring, and gravitational potential energy.

  • Work
  • Kinetic energy
  • Spring energy
  • Gravitational potential energy
  • Vector quantities
  • Scalar
  • Net force
  • Displacement
  • Force and displacement vectors
  • Joule
  • Vector
  • Friction
  • Mass
  • Velocity

Make it your own.

Keep these readings and topics in a new study set, or add them to one you already use.