HSC Y11 Physics: Momentum and Collisions -

Revision

Address: Suite 3/172 Forest Rd, Hurstville NSW 2220

Phone: 95802807
Mobile: 0412589509
Email: thinking-and-action@hotmail.com
0.1 Conservation of Linear Momentum
Question 1:
A neutron (relative atomic mass 1) is in head-on elastic collision with a stationary nitrogen
nucleus (relative atomic mass 14). Determine the final velocity of the neutron.

Question 2:
A particle X (of mas 4 units) and particle Y (of mass 2 units) move directly towards each
other, collide and then separate. If ∆vx is the change of velocity of X, and ∆vy is the change
of velocity of Y , what is the magnitude of the ratio ∆v
∆vy
x
?

Question 3:
A stationary thoron nucleus (Atomic mass, A = 220, number of proton, Z = 90) emits an
alpha particle (A = 4, Z = 2) with kinetic energy Eα . What is the kinetic energy of the
recoiling nucleus?

Question 4:
A stationary uranium nucleus of mass 238 units disintegrates by the emission of an alpha
particle of mass 4 units. Determine the ratio of the kinetic energy of the alpha particle to
that of recoiling daughter nucleus.

Question 5:
A body of mass m travelling with speed 5u collides with and adheres to a body of mass
5m travelling in the same direction with speed u. Determine The speed with which the two
travel together in the original direction.

Question 6:
A moving particle of mass m collides with a particle of mass M (M > m) which is initially
stationary. As a result of the collision, the particle of mass m is brought to rest. Determine
the fraction of the original kinetic energy remaining after the collision.

Question 7:
Four identical railway trucks, each of mass m, are coupled together and are at rest on a
smooth horizontal track. A fifth truck of mass 2m and moving at 5 m/s collides and couples
with the stationary trucks. After impact, the speed of trucks is v. Determine the value of v.

Question 8:
A body, initially at rest, explodes into two fragments of mass M and 3M having total kinetic
energy E. Determine the kinetic energy o the fragment of mass M after the explosion.

Question 9:
A mass of 5 kg initially at rest disintegrates explosively into two fragments P and Q of mass
2 kg and 3 kg respectively. Determine the ratio of the kinetic energy of P to that of Q
immediately after the explosion.

1
Question 10:
A ice-puck X travelling with velocity v strikes head-on an identical stationary ice-puck Y .
If the collision is perfectly elastic, what are the velocities of X and Y immediately after the
collision?

Question 11:
A puck collides perfectly inelastically with a second puck originally at rest and of four times
the mass of the first puck. What proportion of the orginal kinetic energy is lost, and where
does it go?

Question 12:
A sphere of mass 3 kg moving with velocity 4 m/s collides head-on with a stationary sphere
of mass 2 kg and imparts to it a velocity of 4.5 m/s. Calculate the velocity of the 3 kg sphere
after the collision and the amount of energy lost by the moving bodies in the collision.

Question 13:
In an elastic head-on collision, a ball of mass 1.0 kg moving at 4.0 m/s collides with a sta-
tionary ball of mass 2.0 kg. Calculate the velocities of the balls after the collision, indicating
the direction in which they are travelling.

Question 14:
Explain what is meant by the linear momentum of a body. Obtain a relation between p, the
linear momentum of a body of mass m, and Ek , its kinetic energy.

Question 15:

1. A bullet is fired from the a gun into a black which is suspended by thin threads from a
fixed points. The bullet remains in the block which swings upwards. Explain how you
would use this equipment to determine the velocity of the bullet.
2. The block of mass 0.50 kg is suspended by a light string. The bullet, of mass 10 g,
moves horizontally towards the block. The bullet strikes the block and after that both
object swings upwards together. The string swings through 10◦ before it temporarily
comes to rest. Determine the speed of the bullet before it strikes the block.

2
Question 16:
A piece of wooden rod of mass M = 1.0 kg is embedded in the ground. An object of mass
m = 5.0 kg is placed 3.0 m directly above the rod, The object is then released from rest
and finally strikes the rod. After that the object and rod move downward together. The
frictional force acting on the rod is a constant force of 2.0 kN . Determine the maximum
distance moved downwards by the rod when it comes to rest.

Question 17:
A puck on a frictionless surface collides with a stationary puck. The pucks move as shown
in the diagram.

If the mass of the puck moving before the collision is 0.30 kg, what is the mass of the second
puck?

Question 18:
An astronaut of mass 75 kg becomes detached from his space vehicle and is floating at a
distance of 15 m from it. With what velocity (relative to the vehicle) must he throw away
his pack of mass 25 kg in order to regain the vehicle in 30 sec. How much energy does he
expend in the process?

Question 19:
A particle of mass m moving with speed u makes a head-on collision with an identical particle
which is initially at rest. The particles coalesce and move off with common velocity.
1. Find the common speed of the particles after the collision
2. Find the ratio of the kinetic energy of the system after the collision to that before it
3. What happens to the kinetic energy that is lost?

3
Question 20:
A stone is dropped from a point a few metres above the Earth’s surface. Considering the
system of ston and Earth, discuss briefly how the principle of conservation of momentum
applies before the impact of the stone with the Earth.

Question 21:
A neutron of mass m collides head-on with a carbon nucleus of mass 12 m, which was initially
at rest. If the collision is elastic, find the ratio of the kinetic energy of neutron after the
collision to its kinetic energy before collision.

Question 22:
A stationary radioactive nucleus of mass 210 units disintegrates by emission of an alpha
particle of mass 4 units and a daughter nucleus of mass 206 units. If the KE of the alpha
particle is E units, calculate the KE of the daughter nucleus.

Question 23:
A neutron of mass m and velocity u collides elastically head-on with a stationary carbon
mass M . The velocities of the neutron and the carbon atom after the collision are v and V
respectively.
1. Write an equation which represents the conservation momentum in this collision
2. Write the corresponding equation for the conservation of energy
3. Given that eliminating M and m from these equations results in the equation (V −u) =
u. Find an expression for v in terms of m, M and u.

Question 24:
In a nuclear reactor carbon atoms are used to slow down neutrons.
1. Assuming that m, the mass of a neutron is 1 mu and M the mass of the carbon atom is
12 mu , what fraction of its kinetic energy does a neutron retain after an elastic head-on
collision with a carbon atom?
2. How many such head-on collision would be needed to reduce the kinetic energy of the
neutron to one millionth of its original value? Discuss qualitatively the effect on your
two answers of not restricting the problem to head-on on collisions only.
3. Explain why very light particles, such as electrons, or massive particles, such as ura-
nium nuclei, are unsuitable for slowing down neutrons.
Question 25:
The neutrons in a beam from a reactor have an average energy of 6.0 × 10−13 J. This is
reduced to 6.0 × 10−21 J by causing the neutrons to make a series of collisions with carbon
nuclei in a moderator. On average, the fractional loss of kinetic energy of a neutron at each
collision in the moderator is 0.14. About how many collisions must a neutron make in this
process?

4
0.2 Challenging Problems
Question 1:[Centre of mass]
A proton moves with initial speed v directly towards another proton which is initially at
rest. No external forces act on the system.
1. What are the final speeds of the two protons
2. What can you say about the motion of the centre of mass (centre of gravity) of the
system during the collision.

Question 2:[Rocket Design]:

You are designing a rocket for use in deep space, well away from any significant gravitational
fields. Initially, the total mass of the rocket consists of the rocket itself, of mass M , plus
10 blocks of fuel, each with a mass m. To propel the rocket forward, the blocks of fuel are
ejected out of the back at a speed v relative to the rocket.
1. On your first test flight, you start from rest and eject all of the fuel at once
(a) Using the conservation of momentum, show that the velocity of the rocket after
the fuel is ejected, v10 is given by:
10m
v10 = v (1)
M

(b) Show that the impulse achieved through the ejection of all 10 blocks of fuel is the
same whether they are ejected individually, or all at once.
2. Based on part (1), for your second run you start again from rest, loaded with 10 blocks
of fuel of mass m, but now eject the fuel blocks individually at regular intervals in
time. Again the fuel is ejected with a velocity v with respect to the rocket.

5
 (a) Show that after the first block of fuel is ejected, the velocity of the rocket, v1 , is
given by
m
v1 = v (2)
M + 9m
Remembering that the fuel speed, v, is relative to the rocket, show that the
rocket’s velocity after the second and then third blocks of fuel are ejected, v2 and
v3 respectively, are given by:
m
v2 = (2v − v1 ) (3)
M + 8m
m
v3 = (3v − v1 − v2 ) (4)
M + 7m
When all 10 blocks of fuel are ejected, show the final velocity of the rocket is
m
v10 = (10v − v1 − v2 − v2 − v3 − v4 − v5 − v6 − v7 − v8 − v9 ) (5)
M
where vi is the velocity after the i − th block has been ejected. Note that this is
clearly different to the velocity you calculated in part (1).
3. Although you showed in part (2) that the impulse does not depend upon the way
the blocks were ejected, briefly explain, using physical principles, why the resultant
velocity depends upon the method of ejection you adopt.