Momentum

Unit 1 Physics
Miss R. Powell
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 We need to pick up some Momentum Team!!
● Momentum is a commonly used term in sports. A team that has the
momentum is on the move and is going to take some effort to stop. A
team that has a lot of momentum is really on the move and is going to
be hard to stop. Momentum is a physics term; it refers to the quantity of
motion that an object has. A sports team that is on the move has the
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momentum. If an object is in motion (on the move) then it has momentum.

 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
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equation, the momentum of an object is equal to the mass of the object

times the velocity of the object.
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 Recall Newton’s Second Law…
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Impulse
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 A force–time graph can be used to illustrate how a force varies over a
period of time as it acts on an object. The first graph shows a constant
force F being applied over a time interval t.

Suppose in a game of tennis, a player strikes the ball with his racket. The
second graph shows how the force exerted by the racket on the ball would
vary with time. In practice it is difficult for the player to apply a constant
force to the ball. The ball deforms as it is struck by the racket and the
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force applied to it cannot be constant.

The area under a force–time graph represents the change in momentum

of the object in question. For example the area under the graph represents
the change in momentum of the tennis ball
 ● Consider the graph of a constant 30 N force acting on an object for 0.30 s. Since the product, Ft,
represents impulse, the area under the F versus t graph is equal to the impulse due to the force F.
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 ● In practical situations, the graph of impulsive force, F, against time, t, shows a somewhat smoothly
changing force (Figure 5.1b) rather than an abruptly changing force. Yet, by considering this curve
as a sequence of impulses, each acting for a very short time during which the force is constant, we
can show that the total impulse due to a varying force is always equal to the area under the F
versus t graph.
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 Practice Question

- Impulse is the area under a force-time graph.

Impulse = ½(6x1) + (2x6) + ½(2x6)

= 3 + 12 + 6
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= 21Ns
 A ball of mass 0.35 kg hits a wall with a speed of 12 m s–1 and rebounds from the wall
along its initial path with a speed of 7.2 m s–1. The impact with the wall lasts for 0.2 s.
Calculate the average force exerted by the wall on the ball.
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