Name: _______________________ Date: ______________

Physics I C Mr. Tiesler

Solutions to Momentum Problems 1-5

1.) A compact car, with mass 725 kg, is moving at 115 km/h toward the east. (a) Find the
magnitude and direction of its momentum. Draw an arrow on your sketch showing the
momentum. (b) A second car, with a mass of 2175 kg, has the same momentum. What is its
velocity?

𝑚 = 725 𝑘𝑔

𝑣 = 115 𝑘𝑚⁄ℎ = 31.9 𝑚⁄𝑠

(𝑎) 𝑝 =?

𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣 = (725 𝑘𝑔)(31.9 𝑚⁄𝑠) = 23127 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚⁄𝑠 = 2.3𝑥104 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚⁄𝑠

(𝑏) 𝑣 =?

𝑝 = 23127 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚⁄𝑠

𝑚 = 2175 𝑘𝑔

𝑝 23127 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣, 𝑣= = = 10.6 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝑚 2175 𝑘𝑔
2.) The driver of the compact car in the previous problem suddenly applies the brakes hard for
2.0 s. As a result, an average force of 5.0x103 N is exerted on the car to slow it down. (a) What is
the change in momentum; that is, the magnitude and direction of the impulse, on the car? (b)
Determine the final velocity of the car in km/h.

𝑚 = 725 𝑘𝑔

𝑣 = 115 𝑘𝑚⁄ℎ = 31.9 𝑚⁄𝑠

𝑡 = 2.0 𝑠

𝐹 = −5.0𝑥103 𝑁

(𝑎) ∆𝑝 =?

∆𝑝 = 𝐹𝑡 = (−5.0𝑥103 𝑁)(2.0 𝑠) = −1.0𝑥104 𝑁 ∙ 𝑠

(𝑏) 𝑣𝑓 =?

∆𝑝 = 𝑚∆𝑣 = 𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 )

∆𝑝 −1.0𝑥104 𝑁 ∙ 𝑠 𝑚 1 𝑘𝑚 3600 𝑠
𝑣𝑓 = + 𝑣𝑖 = + 31.9 𝑚⁄𝑠 = 18 ( )( ) = 65 𝑘𝑚⁄ℎ
𝑚 725 𝑘𝑔 𝑠 1000 𝑚 1ℎ
3.) A 7.0 kg bowling ball is rolling down the alley with a velocity of 2.0 m/s. For each impulse,
shown in Figures 1a and 1b, find the resulting speed and direction of motion of the bowling ball.

𝑚 = 7.0 𝑘𝑔

𝑣𝑖 = 2.0 𝑚⁄𝑠

(𝑎) 𝑣𝑓 =? Figure 1a Figure 1b

𝐹 = 5.0 𝑁

𝑡 = 1.0 𝑠

∆𝑝 = 𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) = 𝐹𝑡

𝐹𝑡 (5.0 𝑁)(1.0 𝑠)
𝑣𝑓 = + 𝑣𝑖 = + 2.0 𝑚⁄𝑠 = 2.7 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝑚 7.0 𝑘𝑔

(𝑏) 𝑣𝑓 =?

𝐹 = −5.0 𝑁

𝑡 = 1.0 𝑠

∆𝑝 = 𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) = 𝐹𝑡

𝐹𝑡 (−5.0 𝑁)(1.0 𝑠)
𝑣𝑓 = + 𝑣𝑖 = + 2.0 𝑚⁄𝑠 = 1.3 𝑚⁄𝑠
𝑚 7.0 𝑘𝑔
4.) The driver accelerates a 240.0 kg snowmobile, which results in a force being exerted that
speeds up the snowmobile from 6.00 m/s to 28.0 m/s over a time interval of 60.0 s. a. What is the
impulse on the snowmobile? b. What is the magnitude of the force that is exerted on the
snowmobile?

𝑚 = 240.0 𝑘𝑔

𝑣𝑖 = 6.00 𝑚⁄𝑠

𝑣𝑓 = 28.0 𝑚⁄𝑠

𝑡 = 60.0 𝑠

(𝑎) ∆𝑝 =?

∆𝑝 = 𝑚∆𝑣 = 𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) = (240.0 𝑘𝑔)(28.0 𝑚⁄𝑠 − 6.00 𝑚⁄𝑠) = 5280 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚⁄𝑠

(𝑏) 𝐹 =?

∆𝑝 5280 𝑘𝑔 ∙ 𝑚⁄𝑠
∆𝑝 = 𝐹𝑡, 𝐹= = = 88.0 𝑁
𝑡 60.0 𝑠

5. A 2200 kg vehicle traveling at 94 km/h can be stopped in 21 s by gently applying the brakes.
It can be stopped in 3.8 s if the driver slams on the brakes, or in 0.22 s if it hits a concrete wall.
What is the force exerted on the vehicle in each of these stops?

𝑚 = 2200 𝑘𝑔

𝑣𝑖 = 94 𝑘𝑚⁄ℎ = 26 𝑚⁄𝑠

𝑣𝑓 = 0

𝐹 =?

𝐹𝑡 = 𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 )

𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) (2200 𝑘𝑔)(0 − 26 𝑚⁄𝑠)

𝐹𝑔𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 = = = −2.7𝑥103 𝑁
𝑡 21 𝑠

𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) (2200 𝑘𝑔)(0 − 26 𝑚⁄𝑠)

𝐹ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑘𝑖𝑛𝑔 = = = −1.5𝑥104 𝑁
𝑡 3.8 𝑠

𝑚(𝑣𝑓 − 𝑣𝑖 ) (2200 𝑘𝑔)(0 − 26 𝑚⁄𝑠)

𝐹ℎ𝑖𝑡𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑤𝑎𝑙𝑙 = = = −2.6𝑥105 𝑁
𝑡 0.22 𝑠