MOMENTUM

Momentum can be defined as "mass in motion." All objects have mass; so if an object is moving, then it
has momentum - it has its mass in motion. The amount of momentum that an object has is dependent
upon two variables: how much stuff is moving and how fast the stuff is moving. Momentum depends upon
the variables mass and velocity. In terms of an equation, the momentum of an object is equal to the mass
of the object times the velocity of the object.

Momentum is a vector quantity. As a vector quantity, the momentum of an object is fully described by
both magnitude and direction.

Momentum = mass • velocity

In physics, the symbol for the quantity momentum is the lower case p. Thus, the above equation can be
rewritten as
p=m•v
where m is the mass and v is the velocity. The equation illustrates that momentum is directly proportional
to an object's mass and directly proportional to the object's velocity.

EXAMPLES:

1. Determine the momentum of a ...

a. 60-kg halfback moving eastward at 9 m/s.
b. 1000-kg car moving northward at 20 m/s.
c. 40-kg freshman moving southward at 2 m/s.

SOLUTION:
A. p = m*v = 60 kg*9 m/s
p = 540 kg•m/s, east

B. p = m*v = 1000 kg*20 m/s

p = 20 000 kg•m/s, north

C. p = m*v = 40 kg*2 m/s

p = 80 kg•m/s, south
2. A car possesses 20 000 units of momentum. What would be the car's new momentum if ...
a. its velocity was doubled.
b. its velocity was tripled.
c. its mass was doubled (by adding more passengers and a greater load)
d. both its velocity was doubled and its mass was doubled.

SOLUTION:
A. p = 40 000 units (doubling the velocity will double the momentum)
B. p = 60 000 units (tripling the velocity will triple the momentum)
C. p = 40 000 units (doubling the mass will double the momentum)
D. p = 80 000 units (doubling the velocity will double the momentum and doubling the mass will also
double the momentum; the combined result is that the momentum is doubled twice -quadrupled)

3. A halfback (m = 60 kg), a tight end (m = 90 kg), and a lineman (m = 120 kg) are running down the
football field. Consider their ticker tape patterns below.

Compare the velocities of these three players. How many times greater are the velocity of the halfback
and the velocity of the tight end than the velocity of the lineman?
Which player has the greatest momentum? Explain.

SOLUTION:
A. The tight end travels twice the distance of the lineman in the same amount of time. Thus, the tight end
is twice as fast (vtight end = 6 m/s). The halfback travels three times the distance of the lineman in the same
amount of time. Thus, the halfback is three times as fast (vhalfback = 9 m/s).
B. Both the halfback and the tight end have the greatest momentum. The each have the same amount of
momentum - 540 kg*m/s. The lineman only has 360 kg*m/s.

SOURCES:

https://www.physicsclassroom.com/Class/momentum/u4l1a.cfm#:~:targetText=Momentum%20is%20a
%20physics%20term,as%20%22mass%20in%20motion.%22

http://www.physics4kids.com/files/motion_moment.html

https://www.britannica.com/science/momentum