Fundamentals

During a collision, an object experiences an impulse that causes and is equal to the momentum change. That is, Impulse = ∆momentum. The impulse is equal to F•∆t and the momentum change is equal to ∆p. And so one can say that ...
 

F • ∆t = ∆p


where the ∆p is equal to the final momentum minus the initial momentum (pfinal - pinitial).
 

There are four tables for this difficulty level. Each table has the same basic structure with simply different numerical values. Here is one of the versions:
 

Version 1:

An object is in motion with an initial momentum (pinitial). It then experiences a force for a given duration of time, resulting in an impulse. This causes a change in momentum (p), and a final momentum (pfinal) that is different than the initial value.
 
Complete the following table. Tap on a table cell to enter or edit an answer.



 

How to Think About This Situation:

Help for Master Difficulty Level

You can think of this difficulty level as involving five problems. Each row is a problem. And each row is independent of any other row. That is, for Row B, all you need to know is Row B information in order to determine the blanks in Row B. There are three ideas that you will use in determining the three blanks in each row. Here they are:


Force-Time-Impulse
The impulse is mathematically defined as the Force multiplied by the time. That is to say ...

F•∆t = Impulse

And so Columns 2-4 are related to one another by the above equation. Knowing any two values in these columns allows one to calculate the value of a third column.



Impulse and Momentum Change
As mentioned in the Fundamentals section above, the impulse an object experiences is equal to the momentum change. This statement relates the fourth and fifth column to each other.



Momentum Change and the Initial and Final Momentum
A change in any quantity can be perceived as the initial value of that quantity subtracted from the final value of that quantity. Applied to momentum, we can say that ...

∆p = pfinal - pinitial

Understanding this equation allows you to relate the first, fifth, and sixth column to each other.


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Try these links to The Physics Classroom Tutorial for more help with using the F•∆t = ∆p equation to analyze a collision:

Impulse and Momentum Change

or view the corresponding Video on the topic.
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