Learning Module No.

11
Impulse and Momentum

IMPULSE
• a quantity that describes the effect of a net force acting on an object (a kind of
“moving force”).
• Change in momentum
• the product of a force (F) and the time interval (Δt) over which the force acts:

Impulse J is a force F acting for a small-time interval ∆t.

𝑱 = 𝑭∆𝒕 Unit of Impulse is 𝑵 ∙ 𝒔

Impulse is a vector quantity whose direction is that of the force. Its units are N·s in the
SI.

Example 1: The face of a golf club exerts an average force of 4000 N for 0.002 s.
What is the impulse imparted to the ball?

Given: F = 4,000N Solution:

∆𝑡 = 0.002 𝑠 𝑱 = 𝑭∆𝒕 = 4,000𝑁(0.002𝑠)
Required: J=? 𝑱 = 𝟖. 𝟎𝟎 𝑵𝒔

Impulse from a Varying Force

Normally, a force acting for a short interval is not constant. It may be large initially and
then play off to zero as shown in the graph.

F In the absence of calculus, we use the

average force 𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑒
𝑱 = 𝑭𝒂𝒗𝒆 ∆𝒕

time, t
Example 2: Two flexible balls collide. The ball B exerts an average force of 1200 N on
ball A. How long were the balls in contact if the impulse is 5 N s?

Given: 𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑒 = −1,200𝑁

𝐽 = −5𝑁 ∙ 𝑠
Required: t

Solution: 𝐽 −5𝑁 ∙ 𝑠
∆𝑡 = =
𝐹 −1,200𝑁
∆t = 0.00420 s

Impulse Changes Velocity

Consider a mallet hitting a ball: Subst. eq. 2 to eq. 1

𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑜
𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 eq. 1 𝐹 = 𝑚( )
∆𝑡
F 𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑜
𝑎= eq. 2 𝐹∆𝑡 = 𝑚𝑣𝑓 − 𝑚𝑣𝑜
∆𝑡

Impulse = change in “mv”

Momentum

The Linear Momentum (p) of a body is

• A quantity that describes an object’s resistance to stopping (a kind of “moving
inertia”).
• the product of its mass (m) and velocity (v): Linear momentum = (mass of a body) x
(velocity of the body)

Linear Momentum p is defined as the product of mass and velocity, mv.

SI units: kg∙m/s; slug∙ft/s in English System
𝒑 = 𝒎𝒗

𝒗 = 𝟏𝟔𝒎/𝒔 𝒑 = 𝒎𝒗
𝒎 = 𝟏, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒌𝒈
16𝑚
𝑝 = 1,000𝑘𝑔( )
𝑠
𝒑 = 𝟏𝟔, 𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝒌𝒈 𝒎/𝒔
Momentum is a vector quantity whose direction is that of the velocity.

Impulse and Momentum

𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆 = 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒈𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒐𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒖𝒎 A force F acting on a ball for

a time ∆t increases its
𝑭∆𝒕 = 𝒎𝒗𝒇 − 𝒎𝒗𝒐 momentum mv.

Example 3: A 50-g golf ball leaves the face of the club at 20 m/s. If the club is in
contact for 0.002 s, what average force acted on the ball?

𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏: 𝑚 = 0.05𝑘𝑔; 𝑣0 = 0
∆𝑡 = 0.002 𝑠; 𝑣𝑓 = 20𝑚/𝑠

𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅: 𝐹𝑎𝑣𝑒 =?

𝑭∆𝒕 = 𝒎𝒗𝒇 − 𝒎𝒗𝒐

𝐹(0.002 𝑠) = (0.05𝑘𝑔)(20𝑚/𝑠)
1𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
𝑭= = 𝟓𝟎𝟎𝑵
0.002𝑠

Example Problem No. 1, LM No. 11

If a 5 kg object experiences a 10N force for a duration of 0.10 second, what is the
momentum change of the object?

Given: ∆𝒑 = 𝑰𝒎𝒑𝒖𝒍𝒔𝒆

𝑚 = 10𝑘𝑔; 𝐹 = 10𝑁 ∆𝒑 = 𝑭∆𝒕

∆𝑡 = 0.10 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 ∆𝑝 = 10𝑁(0.10𝑠)

Required: ∆𝑝 = 10 𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠 2 (0.10𝑠)

∆𝑝 =? ∆𝑝 = 1 𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
Example Problem No. 2, LM No. 11
A 2.0-kg brick is moving at a speed of 6.0 m/s. How large a force F needed to stop the
brick in a time of 7.0 x 10-4 s?

Given:
𝑭∆𝒕 = 𝒎(𝒗𝒇 − 𝒗𝒐 )
𝑚𝑏 = 2.0 𝑘𝑔
𝐹(7.0 𝑥 10−4 𝑠) = 2.0𝑘𝑔(0 − 6 𝑚/𝑠)
𝑣𝑜 = 6.0 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹(7.0 𝑥 10−4 𝑠) = −12𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
𝑣𝑓 = 0
−12𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
∆𝑡 = 7.0 𝑥 10−4 𝑠 𝐹=
7.0 𝑥 10−4 𝑠
Required: 𝑭 = −𝟏𝟕, 𝟏𝟒𝟐. 𝟖𝟔𝑵

𝐹 =?

Vector Nature of Momentum

Consider the change in momentum of a ball that is dropped onto a rigid plate:

A 2-kg ball strikes the plate with a speed of 20 m/s

and rebounds with a speed of 15 m/s. What is the
change in momentum?

20𝑚
𝐺𝑖𝑣𝑒𝑛: 𝑚 = 2𝑘𝑔; 𝑣𝑜 = − ; 𝑣𝑓 = 15𝑚/𝑠
𝑠
𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑: ∆𝑝 =?

Solution:
∆𝒑 = 𝑚𝑣𝑓 − 𝑚𝑣𝑜 = (2𝑘𝑔)(15𝑚/𝑠) − (2𝑘𝑔)(−20𝑚/𝑠)
30𝑘𝑔𝑚 40𝑘𝑔𝑚
∆𝒑 = + = 70𝑘𝑔𝑚/𝑠 ∆𝒑 = 𝟕𝟎𝒌𝒈𝒎/𝒔
𝑠 𝑠
Directions Are Essential

1. Choose and label a positive direction.

2. A velocity is positive when with this
direction and negative when against
it.
Assume v0 is 30 m/s to the left and vf
is 10 m/s to the right. What is the
change in velocity ∆v?

𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑜 = (10𝑚/𝑠) − (−30𝑚/𝑠)

∆𝑣 = 40 𝑚/𝑠

Example 4: A 500-g baseball moves to the left at 20 m/s striking a bat. The bat is in
contact with the ball for 0.002 s, and it leaves in the opposite direction at 40 m/s.
What was average force on ball?

20𝑚 40𝑚
𝑮𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒏: 𝑚 = 500𝑔; 𝑣𝑜 = − ; 𝑣𝑓 = ; ∆𝑡 = 0.002𝑠 𝑹𝒆𝒒𝒖𝒊𝒓𝒆𝒅: 𝐹 =?
𝑠 𝑠

Solution:
𝐹∆𝑡 = 𝑚𝑣𝑓 − 𝑚𝑣𝑜

𝐹(0.002𝑠) = (0.5𝑘𝑔)(40𝑚/𝑠) − (0.5𝑘𝑔)(−20𝑚/𝑠)

𝐹(0.002𝑠) = (20𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠) + (10𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠)
𝐹(0.002𝑠) = 30𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
30𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
𝐹= = 15,000 N
0.002𝑠
A Collision of Two Masses

When two masses m1 and m2 collide, we will use the symbol u to describe velocities
before collision.

The symbol v will describe velocities after collision.

A Collision of Two Blocks

Conservation of Energy

The kinetic energy before colliding is equal to the kinetic

energy after colliding plus the energy lost in the
collision.

1 1 1 1
𝑚1 𝑢12 + 𝑚2 𝑢22 = 𝑚1 𝑣12 + 𝑚2 𝑣22 + 𝐿𝑜𝑠𝑠
2 2 2 2
Example 5. A 2-kg mass moving at 4 m/s collides with a 1-kg mass initially at rest.
After the collision, the 2-kg mass moves at 1 m/s and the 1-kg mass moves at 3 m/s.
What energy was lost in the collision? Energy is conserved.

Given: Required: Energy Lost in the collision

Solution:

Before Collision After Collision

Before Collision:
1 1 1 1
𝑚1 𝑢12 + 𝑚2 𝑢22 = (2𝑘𝑔)(4𝑚/𝑠)2 + (1𝑘𝑔)(0)2 = 16𝐽
2 2 2 2

After Collision:
1 1 1 1
𝑚1 𝑣12 + 𝑚2 𝑣22 = (2𝑘𝑔)(1𝑚/𝑠)2 + (1𝑘𝑔)(2𝑚/𝑠)2 = 3𝐽
2 2 2 2

Energy Conservation: K(Before) = K(After) + Loss

Loss = K(Before) – K(After)
Loss = 16J – 3J = 13J

Impulse and Momentum

𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐞 = ∆𝐩
𝐅∆𝐭 = 𝐦𝐯𝐟 − 𝐦𝐯𝐨
Opposite but Equal 𝐅∆𝐭
𝑭𝑩 ∆𝒕 = −𝑭𝑨 ∆𝒕
𝑚𝐵 𝑣𝐵 − 𝑚𝐵 𝑢𝐵 = −(𝑚𝐴 𝑣𝐴 − 𝑚𝐴 𝑢𝐴 )
𝒎𝑩 𝒗𝑩 − 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝑩 = −𝒎𝑨 𝒗𝑨 + 𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝑨
Conservation of Momentum
The total momentum AFTER a collision is equal to the total momentum BEFORE.

𝒎𝑨 𝒗𝒂 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒗𝑩 = 𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝑩

Recall that the total energy is also

conserved:
1
Kinetic Energy: 𝐾 = 2 𝑚𝑣 2

𝑲𝑨𝒐 + 𝑲𝑩𝒐 = 𝑲𝑨𝒇 + 𝑲𝑩𝒇 + 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒔

Elastic or Inelastic?
An elastic collision loses no energy. The deformation on collision is fully restored.

In an inelastic collision, energy is lost and the deformation maybe permanent.

Completely Inelastic Collisions

Collisions where two objects stick together and have a common velocity after impact.

Conservation of Momentum:

(𝒎𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 )𝒗𝒄 = 𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝑩

Conservation of Energy:

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝟐𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝟐𝑩 = (𝒎𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 )𝒗𝟐𝒄 + 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒔
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐

Example 6. An 87-kg skater B collides with a 22-kg skater A initially at rest on ice.
They move together after the collision at 2.4 m/s. Find the velocity of the skater B
before the collision.

Given:
𝑚𝐵 = 87𝑘𝑔; 𝑚𝐴 = 22𝑘𝑔
𝑢𝐴 = 0; 𝑣𝐶 = 2.4𝑚/𝑠
Required:
𝑢𝐵 =?
Solution: 𝑣𝐵 = 𝑣𝐴 = 𝑣𝐶 = 2.4𝑚/𝑠

(𝒎𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 )𝒗𝒄 = 𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝑩
(22𝑘𝑔 + 87𝑘𝑔)2.4 𝑚/𝑠 = (22𝑘𝑔)(0) + (87𝑘𝑔)(𝑢𝐵 )
(109𝑘𝑔)2.4 𝑚/𝑠 = 0 + (87𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐵
261.6𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠 = (87𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐵
261.6𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
𝑢𝐵 = = 𝟑. 𝟎𝟏 𝒎/𝒔
87𝑘𝑔

Completely Elastic Collision

Collisions where two objects collide in such a way that zero energy is lost in the
process.

Velocity in Elastic Collisions

1. Zero Energy lost

2. Masses do not change

3. Momentum conserved

Equal but opposite impulses (𝐹∆𝑡) means that:

(Relative ∆𝑣 After) = - (Relative ∆𝑣 Before)
For elastic collision: 𝒗𝑨 − 𝒗𝑩 = −(𝒖𝑨 − 𝒖𝑩 )

Conservation of Momentum:

𝒎𝑨 𝒗𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒗𝑩 = 𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝑩

Conservation of Energy:

𝟏 𝟏 𝟏 𝟏
𝒎𝑨 𝒖𝟐𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝟐𝑩 = 𝒎𝑨 𝒗𝟐𝑨 + 𝒎𝑩 𝒗𝟐𝑩 + 𝑳𝒐𝒔𝒔
𝟐 𝟐 𝟐 𝟐
𝒗𝑨 − 𝒗𝑩 = 𝒖𝑩 − 𝒖𝑨
Example 7: A 50 g bullet lodges into a 2-kg block of clay hung by a string. The bullet
and clay rise together to a height of 12 cm. What was the velocity of the 50-g mass
just before entering?

Given:
1𝑘𝑔
𝑚𝐴 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 = 50𝑔𝑥 = 0.05𝑘𝑔
1000𝑔
𝑚𝐵 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑘 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑦 = 2𝑘𝑔
1𝑚
ℎ = 12 𝑐𝑚𝑥 = 0.12𝑚
100𝑐𝑚
Required: 𝑢𝐴 =?

Solution:
Collision and Momentum:
To find 𝑣𝐴 , we need 𝑣𝑐
After collision, energy is conserved for masses.
1
(𝑚 + 𝑚𝐵 )𝑣𝐶2 = (𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵 )𝑔ℎ
2 𝐴
1 2
𝑣 = 𝑔ℎ
2 𝐶
𝑣𝐶2 = 2𝑔ℎ

𝑣𝐶 = √2𝑔ℎ = √2(9.8 𝑚/𝑠 2 )(0.12𝑚)

𝑣𝐶 = √2.352𝑚2 /𝑠 2 = 𝟏. 𝟓𝟑 𝒎/𝒔

Collision and Momentum:

𝑚𝐴 𝑢𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵 𝑢𝐵 = (𝑚𝐴 + 𝑚𝐵 )𝑣𝐶
(0.05𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐴 + (2𝑘𝑔)0 = (0.05𝑘𝑔 + 2𝑘𝑔)𝑣𝑐
(0.05𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐴 = (2.05𝑘𝑔)𝑣𝑐
(0.05𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐴 = (2.05𝑘𝑔)(1.53𝑚/𝑠)
(0.05𝑘𝑔)(𝑢𝐴 ) = 3.825𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
3.825𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
𝑢𝐴 = = 𝟕𝟔. 𝟓 𝒎/𝒔
0.05𝑘𝑔
Example Problem No. 3 LM. 11
An 8-g bullet is fired horizontally into a 9-kg cube of wood, which is a t rest, and sticks
in it. The cube is free to move and has a speed of 40 cm/s after impact. Find the initial
velocity of the bullet.

Given:
Let:
𝑚𝐵 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑏𝑢𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑡 = 8𝑔
𝑚𝐶 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑢𝑏𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑤𝑜𝑜𝑑 = 9𝑘𝑔
𝑢𝑐 = 0
𝑣𝐵𝐶 = 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑙𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑡 = 40 𝑐𝑚/𝑠

Required:
𝒖𝑩 =?

Solution:
1𝑘𝑔
𝑚𝐵 = 8𝑔 𝑥 = 0.008 𝑘𝑔
1000𝑔
𝑐𝑚 1𝑚
𝑣𝐵𝐶 = 40 𝑥 = 0.40 𝑚/𝑠
𝑠 100𝑐𝑚
Momentum of the system before impact = Momentum of the system after impact
𝒎𝑩 𝒖𝑩 + 𝒎𝑪 𝒖𝑪 = (𝒎𝑩 + 𝒎𝑪 )𝒗𝑩𝑪
(0.008𝑘𝑔)(𝑢𝐵 ) + (9𝑘𝑔)(0) = (0.008𝑘𝑔 + 9.0𝑘𝑔)(0.40𝑚/𝑠)
(0.008𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐵 + 0 = (9.008𝑘𝑔)(0.40𝑚/𝑠)
(0.008𝑘𝑔)𝑢𝐵 = 3.6032𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
3.6032𝑘𝑔 𝑚/𝑠
𝑢𝐵 =
0.008𝑘𝑔

𝒖𝑩 = 𝟒𝟓𝟎. 𝟒 𝒎/𝒔
Example Problem No. 4 LM. No. 11
Suppose that an emergency occurs on the space station and an astronaut needs
to manually move a free-floating 4,000 kg space capsule away from a docking
area. On earth, the astronaut knows she can hold a 50 kg weight above herself
for 3 seconds. How quickly could she get the capsule moving?

Given:
Let:
𝑚𝑠𝑐 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑎𝑝𝑠𝑢𝑙𝑒 = 4,000𝑘𝑔
𝑚𝑎 = 𝑚𝑎𝑠𝑠 𝑎𝑛 𝑎𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑛𝑎𝑢𝑡 𝑐𝑎𝑛 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 = 50𝑘𝑔
𝑡 = 3.0 𝑠𝑒𝑐
Required:
𝑣 =?

Solution:
Compute the total Impulse the astronaut can apply:
𝐽 = 𝑚𝑎 𝑔∆𝑡 = (50𝑘𝑔)(9.81𝑚/𝑠 2 )(3.0𝑠)

𝑱 = 𝟏, 𝟒𝟕𝟏. 𝟓 𝑵 ∙ 𝒔

Impulse-Momentum Theorem
𝐹∆𝑡 = 𝑚𝑠𝑐 (∆𝑣)
𝑚𝑠𝑐 ∆𝑣 = 𝐹∆𝑡
(4,000𝑘𝑔)∆𝑣 = 1471.5𝑁 ∙ 𝑠
1471.5𝑁 ∙ 𝑠
∆𝑣 = = 0.368 𝑚/𝑠
4,000𝑘𝑔

∆𝒗 = 𝟎. 𝟑𝟔𝟖 𝒎/𝒔