Physics Technology Update (4th Edition)

Published by Pearson
ISBN 10: 0-32190-308-0
ISBN 13: 978-0-32190-308-2

Chapter 9 - Linear Momentum and Collisions - Conceptual Questions - Page 189: 4

Answer

No.

Work Step by Step

Linear momentum is a vector, pointing in the same direction as the velocity vector, $\vec{\mathrm{v}}$. Kinetic energy has no direction. It is a nonnegative scalar. We can have two nonzero vectors whose sum is zero. For example, take two particles with the same mass moving in opposite directions with same speeds. These particles have equal magnitudes of momentum. Their momentum vectors add to 0. The kinetic energy of each particle is positive, so the kinetic energy of the system is nonzero. The sum of the momenta is zero, but the sum of kinetic energies is not.
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