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Conservation of Momentum

The principle of conservation of momentum states that:

For a system of interacting objects, the total momentum in a specific direction remains constant as long as no external forces act on the system.A group of interacting objects with no external forces acting on them is called a closed system.When objects collide the total momentum they had before and the total momentum after the collision is the same.The gain in momentum of one object is equal to the loss of momentum of the other.

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Read the text and highlight anything you think is important. When you go on, the text is hidden and you answer from memory.

Specification: OCR Physics A (H156), AS-level, 3.5.2 Collisions. Topic: Momentum.

Key terms in this lesson

density
The mass per unit volume of a substance.
resistance
The ratio of the potential difference across a component to the current through it.

More in Momentum

All 14 lessons in Momentum · All OCR AS-level Physics topics