Name
Period
Date
Impulse & Momentum Worksheet 1
Impulse and the Change in Momentum
1. Two objects, A and B, have identical velocities. Object A has 3 times the mass of
object B.
a. Calculate the value of the ratio of
b. Calculate the value of the ratio of
momentum A to momentum B.
kinetic energy A to kinetic energy B.
2. Two other objects, C and D, have identical masses. Object C has twice the velocity
of object D.
a. Calculate the value of the ratio of
b. Calculate the value of the ratio of
momentum C to momentum D.
kinetic energy C to kinetic energy D.
3. If you throw a ball horizontally while standing on roller skates, you roll backwards.
Will you roll backwards if you go through the motions of throwing the ball, but hold
on to it instead? Explain your reasoning.
4. Which has the greater change in momentum, a 50. gram clay ball that strikes a wall
at 1.0 m and sticks or a 50. gram superball that strikes a wall at 1.0 m and
s
s
rebounds from the wall at 0.8 m ? Explain your reasoning.
s
Impulse and Momentum Worksheet 1
page 2
5. A Hummer and a VW Beetle traveling at equal speeds have a head-on collision.
a. Which vehicle will experience the greatest force of impact? Justify your answer.
b. Which vehicle will experience the greatest change in momentum? Justify your
answer.
c. Which vehicle will experience the greatest acceleration? Justify your answer.
6. Discuss the following in terms of impulse and momentum:
a. Why are padded dashboards safer than hard dashboards in automobiles?
b. Why are nylon ropes, which stretch considerably under stress, favored by
mountain climbers?
Impulse and Momentum Worksheet 1
page 3
7. While being thrown, a net force of 132 N acts on a baseball (mass = 140 g ) for a
period of 4.5  10 2 s .
a. What is the magnitude of
b. If the initial speed of the baseball is

the change in momentum
vi  0.0 m , what will its speed be when it
s
of the ball?
leaves the pitcher's hand?
c. When the batter hits the ball, a net force of 1320 N ,
opposite to the direction of the ball's initial motion,
acts on the ball for 9.0  10 3 s during the hit. What is
the final velocity of the ball?
d. What force does the
ball exert on the bat?
Explain.
8. A rocket, weighing 4.36  10 4 N , has an engine that provides an upward force of
8.9  10 5 N . It reaches a maximum speed of 860 m .
s
a. Draw a force
b. For what period of time, after launch, must the engine
diagram for the
burn in order to reach this speed?
rocket.
Impulse and Momentum Worksheet 1
page 4
9. A golf ball that weighs 0.45 N is dropped from a height of 1.0 m. Assume that the golf
ball has a perfectly elastic collision with the floor so that no energy is dissipated.
a. Calculate the
b. Calculate the
c. Calculate the
velocity of the ball
instantaneous
instantaneous
as it reaches the
momentum of the golf
momentum of the golf
ground.
ball immediately before
ball immediately after it
it strikes the floor.
rebounds from the
floor.
d. What will be the ball’s change in
momentum, (  p ) from the instant
before the ball collides with the
floor until the instant after it
rebounds from the floor?
10. A tennis player returns a 30. m
e. Suppose that the golf ball was in
contact with the floor for 4.0  10 4 s .
What was the average force on the
ball while it was in contact with the
floor?
serve straight back at 25 m , after making contact
s
s
with the ball for 0.50 s . If the ball has a mass of 0.20 kg , what is the force she
exerted on the ball?
Impulse and Momentum Worksheet 1
page 5
11. A 7.5 kg block moving on a frictionless surface at 5.0 m
collides with a stationary
s
3.0 kg ball so that the force exerted by the block on the ball as a function of time is
given by the graph below.
5.0 m
7.5 kg
a. What impulse did the block give to the ball?
s
3.0 kg

F N 
24
b. What impulse did the ball give to the block?
t s 
1.0
c. What is the final velocity of the ball
after the collision?
d. What is the final velocity of the block
after the collision?
e. Is this an elastic collision? Calculate the total kinetic energy before and after the
collision and compare.