Is momentum conserved in a mass spring system?

It’s important to understand that the spring and the mass on the end of it are not a closed system. Momentum is conserved because the forces acting on the two identical masses are equal and opposite, so the rate of change of momentum of the two masses is equal and opposite, and cancels out leaving zero.

Why is momentum not conserved in a spring?

That’s because the top end of the spring is fixed to something, and we normally just take that as a fixed point. The fixed point exerts a force on the combined spring/mass system, and the force means that the momentum of the spring and mass is not conserved.

What is momentum and how is it conserved?

For any collision occurring in an isolated system, momentum is conserved. The total amount of momentum of the collection of objects in the system is the same before the collision as after the collision.

Why is momentum conserved?

Impulses of the colliding bodies are nothing but changes in momentum of colliding bodies. Hence changes in momentum are always equal and opposite for colliding bodies. If the momentum of one body increases then the momentum of the other must decrease by the same magnitude. Therefore the momentum is always conserved.

How is momentum not conserved?

Momentum is not conserved if there is friction, gravity, or net force (net force just means the total amount of force). What it means is that if you act on an object, its momentum will change. This should be obvious, since you are adding to or taking away from the object’s velocity and therefore changing its momentum.

How do you find the mass of conservation of momentum?

Conservation of momentum

1. Total momentum before = 60,000 + 0 = 60,000 kg m/s.
2. Because momentum is conserved, total momentum afterwards = 60,000 kg m/s.
3. Total mass = mass of carriage A + mass of carriage B = 12,000 + 8,000 = 20,000 kg.
4. p = m × v, but we can rearrange this equation so that v = p ÷ m.

Which is true conservation of the total momentum of a system?

The law of conservation of momentum says that the momentum of a closed system is constant in time (conserved). A closed (or isolated) system is defined to be one for which the mass remains constant, and the net external force is zero. The total momentum of a system is conserved only when the system is closed.

How is momentum conserved in an elastic collision?

Elastic collisions are collisions in which both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved. The total system kinetic energy before the collision equals the total system kinetic energy after the collision. The total system momentum is conserved.