Momentum

Fig. 2.1 depicts a hammer being used to hammer a nail into a block of wood. The mass of the hammer head is $0.15\,\text{kg}$. When the hammer head strikes the nail, its speed is $8.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. The duration of contact between the hammer head and the nail is $0.0015\,\text{s}$. After the impact, the hammer head comes to rest.

Feb/March 2016

When a moving body has a change in momentum, what unit is used to measure the change in momentum?

Feb/March 2017

Explain why momentum should be regarded as a vector quantity.

Feb/March 2017

A ball with mass $0.16\,\text{kg}$ is travelling forwards at a speed of $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A second ball has mass $0.10\,\text{kg}$ and is at rest. The first ball collides with the second ball. After the collision, the second ball travels forwards at a speed of $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the speed of the first ball after the collision?

Feb/March 2018

A steady force acts on a body and causes the body's momentum to increase. Which expression links the force with the momentum and the time taken?

Feb/March 2019

An air pistol propels a pellet forwards. What motion does the air pistol have?

Feb/March 2020

Fig. 2.1 depicts an athlete going across the finishing line in a race. At the moment she crosses the finishing line, her speed is 10.0 m/s. She then reduces her speed to 4.0 m/s.

Feb/March 2020

A body of mass $0.80\,\text{kg}$ moves along a straight path with a velocity of $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A force acts on the body, in the same direction as its motion, for $1.0\,\text{minute}$, and its velocity then increases to $6.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What force is exerted on the object?

Feb/March 2021

A gas molecule collides with the inside surface of a container. It bounces back at the same speed. What occurs to the kinetic energy, and what occurs to the momentum, of the molecule?

Feb/March 2021

When a force acts on a body for a period of time, its momentum is changed. Which action would increase the change in momentum?

Feb/March 2023

An object has a velocity of $+3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A force is applied to the object. Later, its velocity becomes $-4.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. The object's mass is $5.0\,\text{kg}$. What is the change in momentum of the object?

Feb/March 2024

Define the term impulse.

Feb/March 2024

A body of mass $4.0\,\text{kg}$ travels along a straight line at $3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What momentum does the body have?

Feb/March 2025

A tennis ball has momentum $2.3\,\text{kg m s}^{-1}$ and is hit by a tennis racket. As a result, the racket makes the ball reverse its direction of motion. During the collision, the racket exerts an average force of $1500\,\text{N}$ on the ball for $0.0024\,\text{s}$. What is the magnitude of the momentum of the ball when it leaves the tennis racket?

Feb/March 2025

Trolley A and trolley B are positioned on a horizontal bench with no friction. Trolley A travels to the right at a steady velocity $u = 0.44\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Trolley B is at rest. Fig. 2.1 shows trolley A just before it hits trolley B.

Feb/March 2025

A body with mass $50\,\text{kg}$ increases its velocity from $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ to $10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ along the same line. What impulse is needed to produce this acceleration?

May/June 2016

A gas molecule collides with the wall of a container and bounces back at the same speed. What happens to the molecule’s kinetic energy, and what happens to its momentum?

May/June 2016

Fig. 2.1 displays a 70 kg dummy being used in a crash test to examine the safety of a new car. The sketch labels a barrier, windscreen, passenger compartment and dummy. The car travels towards a solid barrier at 20 m/s. It collides with the barrier and comes to a sudden halt.

May/June 2016

Figure 2.1 depicts two railway trucks on a track. Truck A, with mass 6000 kg, is travelling at 5.0 m/s and is moving towards truck B, which has mass 5000 kg and is at rest. The sketch labels truck A (6000 kg) moving at 5.0 m/s towards truck B (5000 kg), with a buffer and track shown.

May/June 2016

Fig. 2.1 depicts two cars, A and B, just before impact. Car B has a mass of 1200 kg and is at rest. Car A, with mass 2000 kg, is moving towards car B at 18 m/s.

May/June 2016

A bullet of mass $0.10\,\text{kg}$ moves horizontally at a speed of $600\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It hits a stationary wooden block of mass $1.90\,\text{kg}$ on a frictionless, horizontal surface. The bullet remains in the block. What is the speed of the bullet and the block immediately after the collision?

May/June 2017

A ball of mass $2.0\,\text{kg}$ is moving with a speed of $12\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It travels towards an object of mass $3.0\,\text{kg}$ that is initially at rest. The ball collides with the object and remains stuck to it. Which row shows the total momentum, and the speed of both objects immediately after the collision?

May/June 2017

A footballer sends a ball straight up into the air. At the start, the ball is at rest.

May/June 2017

Underline the pair of quantities that must be multiplied together to calculate impulse. force linked with mass force linked with velocity mass linked with time time linked with velocity weight linked with velocity force linked with time

May/June 2017

State the word equation that gives the definition of momentum.

May/June 2017

A moving ball is acted on by a force that changes its motion. The force remains constant. What would make this force cause a larger change in the ball’s motion?

May/June 2018

Which expression represents the momentum of an object?

May/June 2018

A car with mass $1000\,\text{kg}$ moving at $8.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ hits a lorry with mass $3000\,\text{kg}$ moving at $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ in the same direction. After the collision, the two vehicles remain attached. What speed do they have after the collision?

May/June 2018

At a fairground, a visitor hurls a soft object with mass $0.12\,\text{kg}$ towards a coconut with mass $0.48\,\text{kg}$. The soft object comes to rest on impact with the coconut. To knock the coconut loose, it has to be set in motion at $0.10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the least speed at which the visitor must throw the soft object so that the coconut is dislodged?

May/June 2018

A smoke particle at rest is struck by a nitrogen molecule moving quickly. Which row shows the motion of the smoke particle and the nitrogen molecule after the collision?

May/June 2019

A ball of mass $0.50\,\text{kg}$ drops and strikes the floor with a speed of $10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It then bounces back at $8.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$, as shown. The impact between the ball and the floor takes $0.50\,\text{s}$. What average force acts on the ball while the collision occurs?

May/June 2019

A body with mass $4.0\,\text{kg}$ is travelling along a straight path at a velocity of $3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Determine the momentum of the body.

May/June 2019

How do you determine the momentum $p$ of a body from its mass $m$ and velocity $v$, and what kind of quantity is $p$?

May/June 2019

The rocket is motionless on the launchpad. At time $t = 0$, the engines are ignited and exhaust gases are expelled from the engine nozzles. The rocket then moves upward with acceleration. Fig. 1.1 plots how the rocket’s acceleration changes from time $t = 0$ to time $t = t_f$.

May/June 2019

Fig. 2.1 shows a model fire engine with its brakes applied. Every 6.0 s, 0.80 kg of water leaves in the jet at a speed of 0.72 m/s relative to the model.

May/June 2019

A ball of mass $2.0\,\text{kg}$ moves towards a wall with speed $3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$, then bounces back with speed $1.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the impulse on the wall?

May/June 2021

The mass of a tennis ball is $57\text{ g}$. A tennis player strikes the tennis ball using a tennis racket. At the instant it meets the racket, the tennis ball is moving at $25\text{ m s}^{-1}$. After leaving the player’s racket, the velocity of the tennis ball is $15\text{ m s}^{-1}$ in the direction opposite to its initial approach. The tennis racket exerts an average force of $35\text{ N}$ on the ball. How long does the tennis ball remain in contact with the tennis racket?

May/June 2021

Object X travels to the right across a frictionless surface towards a stationary object Y, as shown. A sound is produced when they collide, and after that both objects continue moving to the right. Which equation is correct?

May/June 2021

Fig. 2.1 depicts a wooden trolley with mass 1.2 kg resting on the bench’s rough surface. A ball of mass 0.52 g moves horizontally towards the trolley. The ball becomes embedded in the trolley’s wood. The trolley then has an initial speed of 0.065 m/s.

May/June 2021

Fig. 3.1 illustrates water moving at a very low speed as it goes over a cliff edge. The diagram labels the cliff edge, water, rocks, and a vertical height of 15 m. The water falls 15 m onto the rocks below.

May/June 2021

A ball with mass $0.16\,\text{kg}$ is travelling forwards at $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A second ball, with mass $0.10\,\text{kg}$, is at rest. The first ball collides with the second ball. After the collision, the second ball travels forwards at $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the speed of the first ball after the collision?

May/June 2022

Three situations are given. In which of these situations is the object's momentum changing?

May/June 2022

A ball with mass $0.16\,\text{kg}$ is travelling forwards at $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A second ball has mass $0.10\,\text{kg}$ and is at rest. The first ball collides with the second ball. After the collision, the second ball moves forwards at $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the speed of the first ball after the collision?

May/June 2022

Which statement describes the impulse experienced by an object?

May/June 2022

A ball with mass $0.16\,\text{kg}$ is travelling forwards at $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A second ball with mass $0.10\,\text{kg}$ is at rest. The first ball hits the second ball. After the collision, the second ball travels forwards at $0.50\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the speed of the first ball after the collision?

May/June 2022

Which equation correctly gives impulse?

May/June 2022

An object with mass $1.2\,\text{kg}$ is travelling at a velocity of $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ when a force of $4.0\,\text{N}$ is applied to it. Its velocity then rises to $5.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ in the same direction. For how long does the force act on the object?

May/June 2023

A ball with mass $0.25\,\text{kg}$ travels towards a wall at a speed of $16\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It then bounces back along the same line at a speed of $12\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the impulse on the ball while it is in contact with the wall?

May/June 2023

A ball of mass $m$ drops straight down and strikes a hard surface. Its speed just before impact is $v_1$. It then bounces vertically upward with speed $v_2$. What is the change in momentum of the ball?

May/June 2024

A gymnast dismounts from a high piece of apparatus. As she lands, she bends her knees gradually. What effect does this have?

May/June 2024

A ball of mass $0.10\text{ kg}$ moves horizontally with a speed of $600\text{ m s}^{-1}$. It collides with a wooden block of mass $1.9\text{ kg}$ that is initially at rest on a horizontal surface with no friction. The ball remains inside the block. What is the speed of the ball and the block immediately after the impact?

May/June 2024

Fig. 2.1 depicts two identical trolleys, P and Q, resting on a horizontal surface with no friction. A load is attached to trolley P. Fig. 2.1 labels: trolley P, trolley Q, compressed spring, 1.5 kg load. A compressed spring is placed between trolley P and trolley Q. When the trolleys are let go, the spring extends and drives them apart. Trolley Q travels to the right at a steady speed of $0.36\text{ m s}^{-1}$. Each trolley has mass $1.2\text{ kg}$. The load on trolley P has mass $1.5\text{ kg}$. The spring’s mass is negligible.

May/June 2024

Fig. 3.1 illustrates two children in equilibrium on a seesaw. A seesaw is a wooden plank that turns around a central pivot.

May/June 2024

A moving ball is acted upon by a force, so its motion changes. This force remains unchanged. What would make the force cause a larger change in the ball’s motion?

May/June 2025

A smoke particle that is not moving is struck by a nitrogen molecule moving at high speed. Which row shows how the smoke particle and the nitrogen molecule move after the collision?

May/June 2025

A cricket ball with mass $0.15\,\text{kg}$ travels at $30\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. In the diagram, a batsman is shown keeping a bat stationary when the ball strikes it and rebounds in the opposite direction at the same speed. The ball remains in contact with the bat for $1.0 \times 10^{-3}\,\text{s}$. The table gives the ball’s change in momentum and the size of the force acting on the ball. Which row is correct?

May/June 2025

A railway truck with a mass of $8000\,\text{kg}$ is travelling at $1.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ towards the right. It then collides with a railway truck of mass $12000\,\text{kg}$ that is moving at $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ towards the left. After the impact, the two trucks are coupled together and continue moving as one. What is the velocity of the two trucks after the collision?

May/June 2025

Define momentum in words.

May/June 2025

Fig. 2.1 depicts a space vehicle made up of a capsule and a nose cone. The space vehicle is travelling with a velocity of $7800\,\text{m\,s}^{-1}$. Its mass is $840\,\text{kg}$.

May/June 2025

Two cars, P and Q, are shown with different masses and different speeds. Car P has mass $1000\,\text{kg}$ and speed $10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Car Q has mass $500\,\text{kg}$ and speed $20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Which row gives the correct comparison of the momentum of P and the kinetic energy of P with the momentum of Q and the kinetic energy of Q?

Oct/Nov 2016

A girl with mass $50\,\text{kg}$ is moving at $6.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is her momentum?

Oct/Nov 2016

A vehicle of mass $900\,\text{kg}$ is moving at a velocity of $20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the momentum of the vehicle?

Oct/Nov 2016

State an equation for the kinetic energy of an object with mass $m$ moving at speed $v$.

Oct/Nov 2016

State the difference between a vector quantity and a scalar quantity.

Oct/Nov 2016

A tennis ball with a mass of $0.060\,\text{kg}$ moves horizontally at a speed of $25\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It strikes a tennis racket and then rebounds horizontally at a speed of $40\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. The ball remains in contact with the racket for $50\,\text{ms}$. What force is exerted on the ball by the racket?

Oct/Nov 2017

The mass of a ball is $0.30\,\text{kg}$. It is moving horizontally at a speed of $3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ in the direction shown. The ball collides with a wall. It then rebounds from the wall, moving horizontally at $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Calculate the change in momentum of the ball.

Oct/Nov 2017

A body of mass $60\text{ kg}$ slows down from $50\text{ m s}^{-1}$ to $20\text{ m s}^{-1}$ while a resultant force of $300\text{ N}$ is applied to it. How long does this force act for?

Oct/Nov 2017

Point $X$ is the centre of mass of a lamina shaped as a triangle with sides of equal length. The top part of the triangle is removed along the dotted line shown. What is the effect on the centre of mass, $X$?

Oct/Nov 2018

A resultant force of $4.0\text{ N}$ acts on an object with mass $0.50\text{ kg}$ for $3.0\text{ s}$. What change in velocity does this force produce?

Oct/Nov 2018

A ball is moving with a momentum of $25\text{ kg m s}^{-1}$ and strikes a wall head-on. It bounces back from the wall at the same speed, but in the opposite direction. The collision lasts for $50\text{ ms}$. What is the average force exerted on the wall by the ball during the collision?

Oct/Nov 2018

An object with mass $3.0\,\text{kg}$, moving at $6.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$, collides with an object of mass $2.0\,\text{kg}$ that is moving in the opposite direction at $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. The two objects remain joined together in the collision. What are the speed and direction of the total mass after the collision?

Oct/Nov 2018

An electron has a speed of $5 \times 10^{6}\ \text{m s}^{-1}$. A neutron has a speed of $5 \times 10^{4}\ \text{m s}^{-1}$. The electron’s mass is $m$. The neutron’s mass is $2000m$. Which row is correct?

Oct/Nov 2018

State what the principle of conservation of energy means.

Oct/Nov 2018

An object's velocity changes from u to v while its mass is m. State, in terms of m, u and v, the change in momentum of the object.

Oct/Nov 2018

Complete Fig. 2.1 by entering, in the right-hand column, the name of the quantity represented by the product in the left-hand column.

Oct/Nov 2018

Two objects $X$ and $Y$ travel straight towards one another. The objects have equal mass. Object $X$ moves with a velocity of $5.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ to the right. Object $Y$ moves with a velocity of $3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ to the left. Object $X$ and object $Y$ collide and remain stuck together. What is their velocity after the collision?

Oct/Nov 2019

An object P with mass $80\,\text{g}$ collides with a second object Q of mass $40\,\text{g}$. Following the collision, P and Q join together and move off as one. Prior to the collision, P has speed $6.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ and Q is stationary. What is the speed of P and Q after the collision?

Oct/Nov 2019

A ball is stationary on the ground. A boy kicks it. The boy’s boot remains in contact with the ball for $0.040\,\text{s}$. The mean force on the ball is $200\,\text{N}$. The ball leaves the boy’s boot at a speed of $20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Which row gives the impulse of the boot on the ball and the mean acceleration of the ball?

Oct/Nov 2019

Toy train P, with mass $0.50\,\text{kg}$, is moving on a straight track at a velocity of $3.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. It collides with toy train Q, which has mass $1.0\,\text{kg}$ and is at rest. The two trains then move together as one. What is the velocity of the combined trains?

Oct/Nov 2019

A force acting on a body over a period of time changes its momentum. Which action produces a greater change in momentum?

Oct/Nov 2019

Fig. 3.1 depicts a shooting competition in which air rifles launch soft metal pellets towards distant targets. When an air rifle is discharged, it produces an impulse of $0.019\,\text{N s}$ on the pellet.

Oct/Nov 2019

As shown, one object has a mass of $0.20\,\text{kg}$ and is moving at $0.20\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. Which other object has momentum equal to the momentum of this object?

Oct/Nov 2020

A footballer kicks a football that is at rest. His foot stays in contact with the ball for $0.050\,\text{s}$. The mass of the ball is $0.40\,\text{kg}$. The speed of projection of the ball is $25\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the average force exerted on the ball by his foot?

Oct/Nov 2020

A ball of mass $m$ drops straight down and strikes a hard surface. The speed of the ball as it reaches the surface is $v_1$. It then bounces straight up with speed $v_2$. What is the change in momentum of the ball?

Oct/Nov 2020

Fig. 1.1 depicts an ice-hockey player skating on ice. He is getting ready to strike the solid disc known as a puck. The disc, with mass 0.16 kg, is travelling horizontally across the ice at 15 m/s.

Oct/Nov 2020

How is the impulse acting on an object related to the object’s change in momentum?

Oct/Nov 2021

A rocket is sent upward from the Moon’s surface. Hot gases are expelled downward for a very brief time. Which statement is not correct?

Oct/Nov 2021

A cricket ball has a mass of $0.16\,\text{kg}$. Its speed is $30\,\text{m s}^{-1}$. A bat applies a force of $10\,800\,\text{N}$ to the ball. Once struck, the ball leaves at $30\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ in the opposite direction. How long was the ball in contact with the bat?

Oct/Nov 2021

Fig. 3.1 depicts a collision at very low speed involving two cars moving along a straight road. Car B, with mass 800 kg, is travelling at $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ and hits car A, which has mass 1000 kg and is at rest. Following the collision, both cars continue in the same direction as car B was initially moving.

Oct/Nov 2021

The diagram depicts a section of hose used by a firefighter. Water travelling at $6\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ enters the nozzle, while water travelling at $1\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ exits. Each second, $15\,\text{kg}$ of water passes through the hose. Which force is exerted on the hose by the water?

Oct/Nov 2022

A trolley with mass $4.0\ \text{kg}$ and speed $4.0\ \text{m s}^{-1}$ strikes a trolley of mass $2.0\ \text{kg}$ moving at $2.0\ \text{m s}^{-1}$ in the same direction. Following the collision, the speed of the $4.0\ \text{kg}$ trolley falls to $3.0\ \text{m s}^{-1}$. What is the velocity $v$ of the $2.0\ \text{kg}$ trolley after the collision?

Oct/Nov 2022

A force $F$ acts on a body of mass $m$ over a time $t$. In this interval, the body’s velocity increases from $u$ to $v$. Which equation links $F$, $m$, $t$, $u$ and $v$?

Oct/Nov 2022

Fig. 2.1 presents a tennis ball moving towards a tennis racket. The tennis ball strikes the racket at a speed of 52 m/s. The mean force on the ball while it is in contact with the racket is 350 N. After leaving the racket, the ball travels at 26 m/s in the direction opposite to its original motion. The mass of the ball is 58 g.

Oct/Nov 2022

Sphere X undergoes a head-on collision with another identical sphere Y that is initially at rest. Each sphere has a mass of $0.15\,\text{kg}$. Before the collision, sphere X moves at a velocity of $2.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ and exerts an impulse of $0.21\,\text{N s}$ on sphere Y. Determine the velocity of sphere X after the collision.

Oct/Nov 2023

A resultant force $F$ causes a car of mass $m$ to speed up on a straight horizontal road, starting from rest and reaching a speed $v$ in time $t$, so that it has momentum $p$. Which pair of relationships for this situation is correct?

Oct/Nov 2023

A car with mass $1200\,\text{kg}$ is moving along a level straight road. Which impulse is required to increase the car’s speed from $5.0\,\text{m s}^{-1}$ to $10\,\text{m s}^{-1}$?

Oct/Nov 2023

A girl is holding a rubber ball outside the window of a tall building. The ball has a mass of 0.20 kg and is resting 10 m above a concrete path.

Oct/Nov 2023

A balloon with mass $15\,\text{g}$ is attached to a straw. The straw is threaded onto a horizontal string, as shown in Fig. 3.1. The diagram identifies horizontal string, hollow straw fixed to balloon, balloon, and direction of motion of balloon. The balloon is inflated with air and then the air is let out. As the air leaves the balloon, the balloon experiences a force. It accelerates from rest until it reaches a constant speed. It then travels $0.67\,\text{m}$ in $0.18\,\text{s}$ at this constant speed.

Oct/Nov 2023

Fig. 3.1 depicts a boy aiming a ball at an object in a fairground setting. The diagram identifies the object. The ball has a mass of $190\,\text{g}$ and moves horizontally at a constant speed of $6.9\,\text{m s}^{-1}$.

Oct/Nov 2023

Which equation shows the change in momentum of an object?

Oct/Nov 2024