Name:​ ​

_______________​
_ ______ ​
Date: ​ ​ Block: _​
____

Pre-Reading Activity:
Write down all of the physics
relationships you notice and
everything you wonder about
the image to the right in the
T-chart below.

Which car do you think is safer

for passengers to minimize
their injuries upon impact?
I Notice... I Wonder...

____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________

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Task 1:
Define the words below that are found in the reading on momentum.

Vocabulary Definition

Momentum

Velocity

Mass

Impulse

Inertia

Newton’s Second Law

Momentum
INTRODUCTION TO MOMENTUM
A crumple zone is a structural
design found in the modern
vehicles. Automobile
manufacturers spend large
amounts of time and money
engineering this special zone of
the car, hoping to collapse -or
crumple-the entire front end of a
car during collisions.

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But why would any engineer want to purposely impose more damage to a
car than is needed?
The answer is found in the physics concept called momentum. Momentum is
dependent upon two variables: (1) how much stuff is moving, the mass, and
(2) how fast this stuff is moving, the velocity.

We can define the momentum of an object as follows:

p  =  m × v  
Momentum is directly proportional to the object’s mass and also its velocity.
Thus the greater an object’s mass or the greater its velocity, the greater its
momentum. Momentum ​
p is a vector having the same direction as the
velocity ​
v​
. The SI unit for momentum is kg⋅m/s.

Task 2:
As you read about momentum in this section, complete the concept map to
organize what you learn about the concept.

3 
Momentum was deemed so important that it was called the “quantity of
motion.” Newton actually stated his second law of motion in terms of
momentum: The net external force equals the change in momentum of a
system divided by the time over which it changes.

Using symbols, this law is

Δp
F net = Δt ,

where ​net is the net external force, Δ​

F​ p is the change in momentum, and Δ​
t is
the change in time.

NEWTON’S SECOND LAW OF MOTION IN TERMS OF MOMENTUM

The net external force equals the change in momentum of a system divided
by the time over which it changes.

Δp
F net = Δt

MAKING CONNECTIONS: FORCE AND MOMENTUM

Force and momentum are intimately related. Force acting over time can
change momentum, and Newton’s second law of motion, can be stated in its
most broadly applicable form in terms of momentum. Momentum continues
to be a key concept in the study of atomic and subatomic particles in
quantum mechanics.

This statement of Newton’s second law of motion includes the more familiar
F​ ​ m​
net= a​
as a special case. We can derive this form as follows.

First, note that the change in momentum Δ​

p​
is given by:

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 Δ​
p​ m​
=Δ(​v​
).

If the mass of the system is constant, then

m​
Δ(​v​ m(​
)=​ Δ​
v)​
.

So that for constant mass, Newton’s second law of motion becomes

m(Δv)
F net = Δt  

Because Δ​
v/​t​
Δ​=​
a​
, we get the familiar equation

F​ =​
net​ m​
a

when the mass of the system is constant​

.
Task 3:
Use the table below to show that F​ =m​
net​ a

Δp
Step 1: Newton’s 2nd Law states F net = Δt
Step 2:

Step 3:

Step 4:

Step 5: Newton’s 2nd Law also states

F net = m a  

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Newton’s second law of motion stated in terms of momentum is more
generally applicable because it can be applied to systems where the mass is
changing, such as rockets, as well as to systems of constant mass. We will
consider systems with varying mass in some detail; however, the
relationship between momentum and force remains useful when mass is
constant, such as in the following example​
.

Momentum is simply inertia in motion! For example, consider a slow rolling

boulder. Now consider a bullet shot from the muzzle of a gun. Which object
will be more difficult to stop? Which object has more momentum? The
answer: they both may have similar momentum!
Although the boulder is moving slowly, it has great mass. Likewise, the bullet
is small, but its velocity is very large.

Physics in Action: Impulse

When two cars have a collision, two things can happen:

1. the cars bounce off each other, or

2. the cars crumple together,

Which situation is more dangerous for the occupants of the cars? When cars
bounce off each other, or rebound, there is a larger change in momentum

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and therefore a larger impulse. A larger impulse means that a greater force is
experienced by the occupants of the cars. When cars crumple after a
collision, there is a smaller change in momentum and therefore a smaller
impulse. The smaller impulse means that the occupants of the cars
experience a smaller force. Car manufacturers use this idea and design
crumple zones into cars, such that the car has a greater change of crumpling
than rebounding in a collision. Also, when the car crumples, the change in
the car’s momentum happens over a longer time. Both these effects result in
a smaller force on the occupants of the car, thereby increasing their chances
of survival.

A very important application of impulse is improving safety and reducing

injuries.

In many cases, an object needs to be brought to rest from a certain initial

velocity. This means there is a certain specified change in momentum. If the
time during which the momentum changes can be increased then the force
that must be applied will be less and so it will cause less damage. This is the
principle behind arrestor beds for trucks, airbags, and bending your knees
when you jump off a chair and land on the ground.

The change in momentum equals the average net external force multiplied
by the time this force acts.

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 Δ​
p​
=​
F​ (​
net​Δ​
t)

The quantity ​
F​ (​
net​ t) ​
Δ​ is given the name impulse.

There are many ways in which an understanding of impulse can save lives,
or at least limbs. The dashboard padding in a car, and certainly the airbags,
allow the net force on the occupants in the car to act over a much longer time
when there is a sudden stop. The momentum change is the same for an
occupant, whether an airbag is deployed or not, but the force (to bring the
occupant to a stop) will be much less if it acts over a larger time. Cars today
have many plastic components. One advantage of plastics is their lighter
weight, which results in better gas mileage. Another advantage is that a car
will crumple in a collision, especially in the event of a head-on collision. A
longer collision time means the force on the car will be less. Deaths during
car races decreased dramatically when the rigid frames of racing cars were
replaced with parts that could crumple or collapse in the event of an
accident.

Bones in a body will fracture if the force on them is too large. If you jump
onto the floor from a table, the force on your legs can be immense if you land
stiff-legged on a hard surface. Rolling on the ground after jumping from the
table, or landing with a parachute, extends the time over which the force (on
you from the ground) acts.
Task 3: As you read about impulse in this section, complete the concept
map to organize what you learn about the concept.

8 
Air-Bags in Motor Vehicles
Air bags are used in motor vehicles
because they are able to reduce the
effect of the force experienced by a
person during an accident. Air bags
extend the time required to stop the
momentum of the driver and
passenger. During a collision, the
motion of the driver and passenger
carries them towards the
windshield. If they are stopped by a
collision with the windshield, it
would result in a large force exerted
over a short time in order to bring
them to a stop. If instead of hitting
the windshield, the driver and
passenger hit an airbag, then the
time of impact is increased. Increasing the time of the impact results in a
decrease in the force.

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Padding as Protection During Sports

The same principle explains why

wicket keepers in cricket use
padded gloves or why there are
padded mats in gymnastics. In
cricket, when the wicket keeper
catches the ball, the padding is
slightly compressible, thus
reducing the effect of the force
on the wicket keeper’s hands.
Similarly, if a gymnast falls, the
padding compresses and reduces
the effect of the force on the
gymnast’s body.

Arrestor Beds for Trucks

An arrestor bed is a patch of ground
that is softer than the road. Trucks
use these runaway vehicle ramps
when drivers have to make an
emergency stop. When a truck
reaches an arrestor bed the time
interval over which the momentum
is changed is increased.
This decreases the force and causes
the truck to slow down.

10 
Follow-Through in Sports
In sports where rackets and bats
are used, like tennis, cricket,
squash, badminton, and baseball,
the hitter is often encouraged to
follow-through when striking the
ball. High speed films of the
collisions between bats/rackets
and balls have shown that
following through increases the
time over which the collision
between the racket/bat and ball
occurs.

This increase in the time of the collision causes an increase in the velocity
change of the ball. This means that a hitter can cause the ball to leave the
racket/bat faster by following though. In these sports, returning the ball with
a higher velocity often increases the chances of success.1

Task 4:
● Login to your vhsnyc.org google account
● go to: ​
https://magic.piktochart.com/
● Sign in using your g+ account
● Create an infographic that illustrates the physics of either:
● Motor Vehicle Safety: Crumple Zones & Airbags
● Padding as Protection in a Sports
● The Importance of Follow Through in Sports

1
 Source: OpenStax Physics ​
This work is licensed by ​
Rice University​
 under a ​
Creative Commons Attribution 
License License (by 4.0)​
. 
Last edited by ​
OSC Physics Maintainer​ on Dec 10, 2010 
 
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