Define momentum of a body.prove with the help of 3rd law of motion tha...
Momentum of a body
Momentum of a body is defined as the product of its mass and velocity. It is a vector quantity and is denoted by the letter ‘p’. Mathematically, momentum is expressed as:
p = mv
where ‘p’ is momentum, ‘m’ is mass and ‘v’ is velocity.
Conservation of momentum during collision
According to Newton’s third law of motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This law applies to collisions as well. When two bodies collide with each other, they exert equal and opposite forces on each other.
Conservation of momentum during a collision can be explained as follows:
- Before the collision, the two bodies have their separate momenta.
- During the collision, the two bodies exert equal and opposite forces on each other, resulting in a change in their velocities.
- As per the law of conservation of momentum, the total momentum of the two bodies before the collision is equal to the total momentum of the two bodies after the collision.
- Therefore, the sum of the momenta of the two bodies is conserved during the collision.
Mathematically, the conservation of momentum can be expressed as:
m1v1i + m2v2i = m1v1f + m2v2f
where m
1 and m
2 are the masses of the two bodies, v
1i and v
2i are their initial velocities, and v
1f and v
2f are their final velocities.
Conclusion
From the above explanation, it can be concluded that the total momentum of two bodies is conserved during a collision, as per the law of conservation of momentum and Newton’s third law of motion.