- #1
Capt1801
- 6
- 0
I'm a passout from school taking a gap year. I find the concept of conservation of momentum exceedingly difficult. Each question - and sometimes each part of a question, if a question has different parts - requires us to choose different systems each time. I look at the solution, and think I have it now, and then I move to the next question only to find that I can't solve it. It seems as though questions from this chapter (which involves centre of mass and collisions too) confuse me. I just can't locate the doubt - I don't understand where I'm going wrong. I know why momentum is conserved. I know that in the absence of an external force, the velocity of the centre of mass is zero if it was initially at rest. I know the concepts, and understand them. And yet, when I get to the questions, I can't solve even one without getting the wrong answer at least once. I choose a particular system, equate the final and initial momentum and then get the wrong answer. Then I find I missed something in the system I chose, or chose the wrong system altogether.
Energy conservation is pretty simple as compared to this. My question is: is conservation of momentum actually so difficult or do I find it difficult because I'm missing something?
Thanks.
Energy conservation is pretty simple as compared to this. My question is: is conservation of momentum actually so difficult or do I find it difficult because I'm missing something?
Thanks.