Name
Period
Date
Impulse & Momentum Worksheet 3
The Conservation of Momentum
For each problem:
 Write the Momentum Conservation equation.
 Use the equation to calculate the requested quantity.
1. A 2.0 kg melon is balanced on a bald man's head. His son shoots a 50. g arrow at it
with a speed of 30. m . The arrow passes through the melon and emerges with a
s
speed of 18 m . Find the speed of the melon as it flies off the man's head.
s
2. Old cannons were built on wheeled carts, both to facilitate moving the cannon and to
allow the cannon to recoil when fired. When a 150 kg cannon and cart recoils at
1.5 m , at what velocity would a 10. kg cannonball leave the cannon?
s
3. On an icy road, a 5000. kg truck rear-ends a 1200. kg car that was traveling at 13 m .
s
As a result of the collision, the truck slows from 15 m to 10. m . Calculate the
s
s
velocity of the car just after the collision. Ignore all frictional effects.
Impulse & Momentum Worksheet 3
page 2
4. Mighty Miguel has a mass of 100. kg and is running towards the end zone at 9.0 m .
s
m
Joey Gonzales (mass of 75.0 kg ) runs at 12.0
towards Miguel. They collide at
s
the 2-yard line. Does Miguel score? Calculate Miguel’s velocity after the collision to
prove your answer.
5. A raft of mass 180 kg carries two swimmers of mass 50. kg and 80. kg. The raft is
initially floating at rest. The two swimmers simultaneously dive off opposite ends of
the raft, each with a horizontal speed of 3.0 m . With what speed and in what
s
direction does the raft start to move? Use the momentum bar graphs below to
organize the conservation of momentum of all three objects.
Final
Initial
Object / Mass / Velocity
Object / Mass / Velocity
-
0
Momentum
Momentum Conservation Equation:
+
-
0
Momentum
+