Forces in Motion

YOU ARE LEARNING:

Understanding Momentum

We will get to grasp the concept of momentum as a property of moving objects, and introduce a fundamental equation for momentum.

If a bowling ball, moving very fast, has more momentum than a football, moving very slow, what do you think momentum is dependent on? Pick all the option you think are correct.

You can select multiple answers

All moving objects have momentum. The magnitude of momentum depends on the mass and velocity of the object.

Does a stationary car have momentum?

A lorry would have more momentum than a car if they are moving at the same speed, because the lorry has ______ _______.

Momentum is a vector quantity. This means it has which two properties?

On a rugby pitch, which player has greater momentum? The large rugby player, walking towards the bench, or the smaller rugby player, sprinting across the pitch?

To know which rugby player has more momentum, we would have to know the mass and velocity of each player. The rugby player with more momentum would be more difficult to stop, but without knowing how much mass they have and how quickly or slowly each of them are moving, we can't know which one of them that is.

If mass is measured in $kg$ , and velocity in $m/s$ , what units do you think are used to measure momentum?

A runner has a mass of $60\space kg$ and a velocity of $3\space m/s$ . His momentum is $180\space kg\space m/s$ . Can you work out the formula that links mass, velocity and momentum?

If $p=mv$ , what symbol do we use for momentum in physics?

The magnitude of momentum can be calculated using the formula $p=mv$ , where $p$ is momentum, $m$ is mass, and $v$ is velocity.

If a $30\space kg$ dog is running with a velocity of $5\space m/s$ , what is its momentum? Write your answer using the correct units for momentum.