Unit 5 • Momentum
5.3 — Conservation of Momentum
In an isolated system, momentum doesn’t vanish — it moves around.
🖼️ One-Page Visual Summary (Infographic)
🧭 Plot Summary
Conservation of momentum is the collision rulebook: if a system is isolated, with no net external impulse, the total momentum before equals the total momentum after.
In this lesson, you’ll think like a momentum accountant. Momentum can be transferred between objects during interactions, but the “total” remains consistent — even if the objects stick together or bounce apart.
Why it matters:
Conservation of momentum explains everything from car crashes to rocket motion. It allows predictions when forces are messy but the system boundary is clear.
🔎 Detailed Lesson Overview
Inside: detailed explanations, graphical relationships, mathematical reasoning, and guided practice.
✅ Self-Check
- ◻ I can explain what it means for a system to be isolated.
- ◻ I can describe conservation of momentum in words.
- ◻ I can explain how momentum transfers between interacting objects.
- ◻ I can predict qualitatively what must happen after an interaction.