When two objects interact they experience an equal and opposite force.The net force acting on all the objects in the closed system is zero.So the rate of change of total momentum Δp/Δt = 0So the total change in momentum of both objects must be zero; each object's momentum changes by an equal and opposite amount.So momentum is conserved.
Conservation of Momentum as a Consequence of Newton's Laws
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Specification: OCR Physics A (H156), AS-level, 3.5.1 Newton's laws of motion. Topic: Momentum.
Key terms in this lesson
- energy
- The capacity of a system to do work.
- kinetic energy
- The energy an object possesses due to its motion.
- electric current
- The rate of flow of electric charge.
More in Momentum
- Conservation of Momentum
- Explosions vs Collisions
- Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
- Air Bags
- Impulse and Force-time Graphs
- Adding Momentum
- Resolving Momentum
- Conservation of Momentum in Two Dimensions
All 14 lessons in Momentum · All OCR AS-level Physics topics