Momentum conservation in collisions

Thread starter ba726
Start date Oct 12, 2009
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Collisions Conservation Momentum Momentum conservation

AI Thread Summary

In elastic collisions, the percentage error for final total momentum can indeed be negative, reflecting a decrease in momentum compared to the initial value. The calculation for percentage error is given by (p(final) - p(initial)) / p(initial) x 100. A negative result indicates that the final momentum is less than the initial momentum, which can occur in certain scenarios. The small value of -0.528 suggests a minor discrepancy in the momentum conservation. Understanding this concept is crucial for analyzing collisions accurately.

Oct 12, 2009

ba726

can the percentage error for final total momentum be negative in an elastic collision? It doesn't have absolute value in the equation given and I get a negative number, p(final) - p(initial)/p(initial) x 100 though small -0.528

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Oct 12, 2009

Dale

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Hi ba726, welcome to PF. Yes, errors can be negative.

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