Physics 9702 · AS & A Level · Momentum and Newton's laws of motion

Momentum and Newton's laws of motion — practice question

A ball drops straight down onto a horizontal surface and bounces back, as illustrated. Just before it strikes the ground, the ball has momentum $p_1$ downwards. Once it has rebounded, it moves away from the ground with momentum $p_2$ upwards. The ball remains in contact with the ground for $0.020\,\text{s}$. Over this time interval, an average resultant force of $25\,\text{N}$ acts on the ball. What is a possible combination of values for $p_1$ and $p_2$?

  • A$p_1 = 0.15\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$, $p_2 = 0.65\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$
  • B$p_1 = 0.20\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$, $p_2 = 0.30\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$
  • C$p_1 = 0.30\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$, $p_2 = 0.20\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$
  • D$p_1 = 0.65\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$, $p_2 = 0.15\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$

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