Name: ____________________

Unit P1-07 – Impulse and Momentum*

Lesson Notes

P1-07-1: Momentum and Impulse

State the definition of momentum. State the symbol and the units.

Momentum is a vector quantity. Explain what this means.

Test Your Understanding: Momentum can be represented using a “momentum square diagram”. Fill in the
following square diagrams based on the description

A 2 kg toy car moves A 4 kg bowling ball A 0.01 kg bullet travels A 2000 kg car moves at 30
right at 3 m/s moves left at 2 m/s upward at 400 m/s m/s to the west

State the definition of impulse. State the symbol and units. Explain what impulse actually is.

How is impulse due to a constant force calculated? How is impulse due to a varying force calculated?

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State the Impulse-Momentum Theorem. Also state what law of physics the I-M Theorem is the same as.

Derivation of the Impulse-Momentum Theorem: For each line of the derivation, explain what
mathematically was done. The first line is done for you as an example.
  
v f − vi  Fnet We start with the definition of acceleration, and the relationship between
a= and a =
t f − ti m acceleration and force established by Newton’s Second Law.
  
v f − vi Fnet
=
t f − ti m

mv f − mvi = Fnet (t f − t i )
 

 
p = Fnet t

Test Your Understanding: A toy car has mass 3 kg and initially moves with a speed of 4 m/s. Consider two
cases: the car makes a “gentle” stop, and the car makes an “emergency” stop. Show on the diagrams below
what a “gentle” stop and an “emergency” stop might look like.

Gentle Stop:
Car’s Initial Momentum + Impulse Applied to Car = Car’s Final Momentum

+ =
Emergency Stop:
Car’s Initial Momentum + Impulse Applied to Car = Car’s Final Momentum

+ =
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Test Your Understanding: A toy car has mass 2 kg and initially moves forward with a speed of 3 m/s.
Consider the following two cases.
1. The car crashes into a wall and stops as a result of the collision.
2. The car crashes into a wall and bounces backward with a speed of 3 m/s after the collision.
In both cases, the car is only in contact with the wall for 2 seconds. Diagram these two situations and answer
the questions that follow.

Case 1 (Crash and stop):

Car’s Initial Momentum + Impulse Applied to Car = Car’s Final Momentum

+ =
Case 2 (Crash and Bounce):
Car’s Initial Momentum + Impulse Applied to Car = Car’s Final Momentum

+ =
Egg-and-Sheet Example: If your teacher took an egg and threw it as hard as they could against a wall, the egg
would shatter and make a mess everywhere. Instead, your teacher takes an egg and throws it as hard as they can
against a bedsheet that is held vertically. State what you observe. Then explain why this happened using
appropriate physical principles and vocabulary.

Checklist:
___ I stated my observations.
___ I stated a law of physics that is always true.
___ I connected the law of physics to the specific
circumstances of the situation.
___ I compared the two situations (stated what was
the same in both cases)
___ I contrasted the two situations (stated what was
different in both cases)
___ I used physics vocabulary (momentum, mass,
force, velocity, speed, impulse, time)

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Car Crash Example: Cars in the 1950’s were made out of solid steel so that they bounced off of each other
when they collided. Cars today are built out of plastic materials that crumple when they collide. The speed
limits during both time periods were about the same, and people in both time periods had about the same mass
(on average). During which time period were injuries from accidents worse? Answer the question and explain
your reasoning in a well-organized paragraph.

Checklist:
___ I answered the question directly.
___ I stated a law of physics that is always true.
___ I connected the law of physics to the specific
circumstances of the situation.
___ I compared the two situations (stated what was
the same in both cases)
___ I contrasted the two situations (stated what was
different in both cases)
___ I used physics vocabulary (momentum, mass,
force, velocity, speed, impulse, time)

Example: A 0.03 kg falling ball reaches the floor moving with speed 5 m/s. When the ball is in contact with
the floor, the net force acting on the ball increases linearly from zero to 8 N for 0.02 seconds, then decreases
linearly back to zero for the next 0.04 seconds. The ball then leaves the floor with speed v. You are to
determine the rebound speed v using the momentum square diagrams and F vs. t graph below.

Ball’s Initial Momentum + Impulse Applied to Ball = Ball’s Final Momentum

+ =
pi = __________ kg·m/s Δp = __________ N·s pf = __________ kg·m/s

(a) Draw the square diagram for the initial momentum of the ball (remember the ball’s direction).

(b) Draw the graph of F vs. t described in the second sentence of the paragraph above. Then calculate the
impulse applied to the ball.

(c) Draw the square diagram for the final momentum of the ball and calculate the rebound speed of the ball.

(d) What would happen if the net force applied to the ball was twice as strong and applied for half as much
time?

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Example: A 0.5 kg basketball is dropped from rest 1
m above the ground. The force that the ground exerts
on the ball is shown below as a function of time when
the ball bounces once off of the ground.

How fast is the ball moving when the ball reaches the
floor?

What impulse is applied to the ball? How high does the ball go after bouncing?

How fast does the ball move when the ball leaves the International basketball regulations indicate that a
floor? basketball is properly inflated if the basketball
bounces back up to between 53% and 64% of its drop
height. Is this basketball properly inflated, under
inflated, or over inflated? Explain your answer.

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P1-07-2: Conservation of Momentum

What does it mean for a system of objects to be “isolated” so that momentum can be conserved? Hint: It has to
do with “internal” and “external” forces.

A car of mass m initially moves to the right with speed v. If the car brakes to a stop, where does its momentum
mv go?

State the Law of Conservation of Momentum as an equation.

What would the Conservation of Momentum equation look like if we had three objects in our system?

Fill in the table of “types of collisions”.

Relationship Between Relationship Between

Type of
Word Description Initial and Final Kinetic Initial and Final
Collision
Energy Momentum

Explosion

Elastic

Inelastic

Totally
Inelastic

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Test Your Understanding: A 2000 kg car and 4000 kg truck travel in opposite directions with speeds of 30
m/s. The car moves right and the truck moves left. If the two vehicles collide and lock together, how fast and
in which direction will the wreckage be traveling? Make diagrams below to answer the question.

Car’s Initial Momentum + Truck’s Initial Momentum = System’s Final Momentum

+ =

pci = __________ kg·m/s pti = __________ kg·m/s pf = __________ kg·m/s

Now use a conservation of momentum equation to answer the question (show an equation with symbols, then
plug-ins, then algebraic work, then the answer).

Test Your Understanding: A 20 kg child skates forward with speed 6 m/s crashes into his 60 kg mother who
is initially at rest and also on skates. The child pushes off of his mother so that the child now moves backward
with speed 6 m/s. How fast and in what direction does the mother move after the interaction?

Child’s Initial Mom’s Initial Child’s Final Mom’s Final

+ = +
Momentum Momentum Momentum Momentum

+ = +
pci = ______ kg·m/s pmi = ______ kg·m/s pcf = ______ kg·m/s pmf = ______ kg·m/s

Now use a conservation of momentum equation to answer the question.

How do you know, without making any calculations, that this collision is an “explosion”?

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What law of physics is Conservation of Momentum the same as?

Derivation of Conservation of Momentum: For each line of the derivation, explain what mathematically was
done. The first line is done for you as an example.

  We start with Newton’s Third Law, which states that the force that 1
− F1 on 2 = F2 on 1
exerts on 2 is equal and opposite to the force that 2 exerts on 1
 
− m2 a2 = m1a1
   
v 2 f − v 2i v1 f − v1i
− m2 = m1
t t

− m 2 (v 2 f − v 2i ) = m1 (v1 f − v1i )
   

   
− m2 v 2 f + m2 v 2i = m1v1 f − m1v1i

   
m1v1i + m2 v 2i = m1v1 f + m2 v 2 f

Test Your Understanding: Answer each yes/no question and then EXPLAIN YOUR REASONING.

(a) Is it possible for a single object to be moving and yet have zero kinetic energy?

(b) Is it possible for a system of objects to all be moving and yet the system has zero total kinetic energy?

(c) Is it possible for a single object to be moving and yet have zero momentum?

(d) Is it possible for a system of objects to all be moving and yet the system has zero total momentum?

Example: A car traveling at 30 m/s forward strikes a barrier head-on and bounces backward moving at 10 m/s.
The driver is 100 kg. If the car was in contact with the barrier for only 0.5 seconds, how much force was
applied to the driver during the collision? (Show a solution using forces and motion, then show a solution using
impulse and momentum.)
Forces and Motion Solution Impulse and Momentum Solution

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Super Colliding Super Carts Example: Consider a 2 kg bullet shot with initial
speed of 6 m/s at a 4 kg cart. The cart has frictionless rollers. The bullet collides
with the cart in a different way in each of the following cases:

1. The bullet goes through the cart, and the bullet has a final speed of 4 m/s after it emerges from the cart.
2. The bullet embeds itself in the cart, so that the bullet and cart become a single object.
3. The bullet strikes the cart and drops to the floor.
4. The bullet bounces back off of the cart so that the bullet’s final speed is 2 m/s.

Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4

Rank these cases according to which one has the cart moving fastest after the collision.

My Hypothesis _____ _____ _____ _____

Cart moves forward fastest Cart moves forward slowest

Complete the diagrams on the following two pages. Then come back to this page and put the correct ranking
for the cart’s final speed after the collision.

Correct Result _____ _____ _____ _____

Cart moves forward fastest Cart moves forward slowest

In a paragraph-length response, give physical reasons why the ranking of the cases is this way.

Checklist:
_✓_I answered the question directly.
___ I stated a law of physics that is always true.
___ I connected the law of physics to the specific
circumstances of the situation.
___ I compared the situations (stated what was the
same in all cases)
___ I contrasted the situations (stated what was
different in all cases)
___ I used physics vocabulary (momentum, mass,
force, velocity, speed, impulse, time)

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Case 1: The bullet goes through the
cart, so that the bullet has a final
speed of 4 m/s after it emerges from
the cart.
→
Bullet’s Initial Cart’s Initial Bullet’s Final Cart’s Final
+ = +
Momentum Momentum Momentum Momentum

+ = +
pbi = ______ pbf = ______
pci = ______ kg·m/s pcf = ______ kg·m/s
kg·m/s kg·m/s

What type of collision is this? _________________________

Evidence:

Case 2: The bullet embeds itself in

the cart, so that the bullet and cart
become a single object. →
Bullet’s Initial Cart’s Initial
+ = Combined System’s Final Momentum
Momentum Momentum

+ =
pbi = ______
pci = ______ kg·m/s pf = ______ kg·m/s
kg·m/s

What type of collision is this? _________________________

Evidence:

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Case 3: The bullet strikes the cart
and drops to the floor.
→
Bullet’s Initial Cart’s Initial Bullet’s Final Cart’s Final
+ = +
Momentum Momentum Momentum Momentum

+ = +
pbi = ______ pbf = ______
pci = ______ kg·m/s pcf = ______ kg·m/s
kg·m/s kg·m/s

What type of collision is this? _________________________

Evidence:

Case 4: The bullet bounces back off

of the cart so that the bullet’s final
speed is 2 m/s. →
Bullet’s Initial Cart’s Initial Bullet’s Final Cart’s Final
+ = +
Momentum Momentum Momentum Momentum

+ = +
pbi = ______ pbf = ______
pci = ______ kg·m/s pcf = ______ kg·m/s
kg·m/s kg·m/s

What type of collision is this? _________________________

Evidence:

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Example: You want to measure the speed v that a bullet emerges from a gun. However, the bullet moves so
fast that you cannot use meterstick-and-stopwatch or video analysis directly on the bullet. In fact, the only
equipment you have is a meterstick and an electronic balance.

(a) Suppose that you set up the following situation: A block

is set on the edge of a frictionless table. You plan to fire
the bullet horizontally into the block so that the bullet
embeds itself in the block and the bullet and block become
a projectile.

i. What measurements would need to be made so that the

speed v could be calculated? List each measurement
as descriptive words and a letter symbol (perhaps with
a subscript).

ii. Using your symbols, show how the speed v can be calculated. Write a narrative, which means
explaining in words what you are doing and then showing the math for what you are doing.

(b) In a different set-up, you hang the firearm from two strings so
that the firearm is suspended from the ceiling. You plan to
trigger the firing mechanism without touching the firearm
directly so that the firearm swings backward due to the recoil of
the firing of the bullet.

i. What measurements would need to be made so that the

speed v could be calculated?

ii. Using your symbols, show how the speed v can be calculated. Write a narrative.

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P1-07-3: Momentum and Center-Of-Mass

If the objects in a system are moving, then the center-of-mass of the system may also be moving. What is the
relationship between the velocity of the system’s center of mass and the total momentum of the system?

During a collision, how does the center of mass of a system change its motion? Explain.

Balancing Carts Demonstration: Remember the two carts that pushed off
of each other but the system stayed balanced? What was the speed of the
center of mass before the carts sprung apart? What was the speed of the
center of mass after the carts sprung apart? Explain why.

In order to change the motion of the center of mass of a system, the system must have…?

What is the relationship between the acceleration of the system’s center of mass and the forces acting on the
system?

Exploding Ball Example: A ball in space is made up of eight pieces.

Initially, the ball passes point A with constant speed. When the ball passes
B, the ball explodes into its eight pieces. There is a wall located at C. When
does the center of mass of the eight-piece system change its motion?

_____ When the ball explodes

_____ When the center-of-mass reaches point C
_____ Other

Explain.

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Example: A 40 kg object is connected to a 30 kg object
by a spring that is stretched far from its equilibrium
length. The objects are both released from rest and are
pulled toward each other by the spring, which causes the
objects to slide along a rough surface. The coefficient of
kinetic friction between each block and the surface is μ.
Students measure the momentum of the 40 kg object
(shown as dots ⚫ in the graph) as a function of time and
the momentum of the 30 kg object (shown as squares ◼ in
the graph) and plot the momentum as a function of time
for both objects. The graph is shown to the right and a
diagram of the situation is shown below.

(a) On each block in the above diagram, draw and label the forces acting on that object while they slide.

(b) Use the graph to calculate the net force acting on each object and the net external force acting on the two-
object system.

(c) Use the net external force acting on the two-object system to calculate the acceleration of the system’s
center of mass.

(d) Use the net external force acting on the two object system to calculate the coefficient of kinetic friction μ.

(e) Use the value of μ and one of the net forces found in part (a) to determine the force that the spring is
exerting on each object.

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Test Your Understanding: Consider a 1000 kg car and a 2000 kg truck. They collide, and as a result of the
collision they stick together as a single object.

(a) If the car is moving at 30 m/s and hits the truck which is at rest, how fast does the car-truck combination
move after the collision? Show work.

(b) If the truck is moving at 30 m/s and hits the car which is at rest, how fast does the car-truck combination
move after the collision? Show work.

(c) Who is more injured: The truck driver when the car hits the truck, or the car driver when the truck hits
the car? (Hint: Injuries occur because of the sudden change in velocity undergone in a collision.)

(d) Who is more injured: The car driver when the car hits the truck, or the car driver when the truck hits the
car? (Same hint as before!)

P1-07-4: Conservation of Momentum in 2D

What two equations express Conservation of Momentum in two dimensions?

Example: An 8 kg puck moving at 2 m/s strikes a 2 kg puck at rest. The BEFORE

after the collision, the pucks move as shown. Find the values of vx and vy.

AFTER

Is this collision inelastic, elastic, or an explosion? Show evidence in narrative form.

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In two dimensions, conservation of momentum becomes two separate
equations: one for horizontal momentum and one for vertical momentum.

Initial Total Horizontal Momentum = Final Total Horizontal Momentum

Initial Total Vertical Momentum = Final Total Vertical Momentum

Example: Ball A has initial momentum of 4 Ns. The ball collides with ball
B initially at rest. Draw possible resulting momentum vectors for each of
the following situations. Make sure your momentum vectors show
conservation of momentum.

Ball A goes up-and-right and ball B Ball A goes straight up and ball B Ball A goes up-and-left and ball B
goes down-and-right. goes down-and-right. goes down-and-right.

Draw these IMPOSSIBLE results of the collision. Then explain why these results are impossible.

Ball A goes up-and-right and ball B Ball A goes straight up and ball B Ball A goes up-and-right and ball B
goes directly to the right. goes straight down. goes up and right.

*(C) 2023 John Frensley.

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