Question

To solve problems involving projectiles traveling through the air by applying the law of conservation of momentum requires evaluating the momentum of the system immediately before and immediately after the collision or explosion. Why?

Short answer

Answer: Evaluating the momentum of a projectile system immediately before and immediately after a collision or explosion is important because it allows us to apply the law of conservation of momentum accurately. This law states that the total momentum of an isolated system remains constant if no external forces are acting upon it. By analyzing the momentum at these specific instances, we can ignore the effect of any external forces that may be acting during the collision or explosion and efficiently solve challenges involving projectiles, collisions, and explosions.

Step-by-step solution

Law of Conservation of Momentum

The law of conservation of momentum states that the total momentum of an isolated system remains constant if no external forces are acting upon it. This means that the momentum before a collision or an explosion is equal to the momentum after the event.

Momentum Before and After Collision or Explosion

To analyze problems involving projectiles and momentum conservation, we should evaluate the momentum of the system immediately before and immediately after the event. This is because momentum is conserved only at these specific instances when considering collisions or explosions. During the collision or explosion, external forces might be acting on the system, altering the momentum. By studying the momentum immediately before and after, we can ignore the effect of these forces and apply the law of conservation of momentum.

Applying Conservation of Momentum

Given the initial conditions (speed, mass and direction) of the objects involved in the collision or explosion, calculate the total momentum of the system immediately before the event. Then, using the conservation of momentum, determine the possible outcomes after the event, which should maintain the total momentum conserved. This is the most reliable and efficient way to solve challenges involving projectiles traveling through the air, colliding, or exploding. In summary, evaluating the momentum of a projectile system immediately before and immediately after a collision or explosion is necessary to accurately apply the law of conservation of momentum and effectively solve these types of problems.