The Keeping Track of Momentum (Hit and Bounce Collisions) Concept Builder is comprised of a bank of 36 questions that are delivered to the learner across three different difficulty levels. Each of the three levels has the same emphasis, but the difficulty level of the questions are noticeably different. In the first difficulty level -
- students are provided before- and after-collision momentum information for two colliding carts. They must use the information to fill out a momentum table. A momentum table displays the momentum of the individual objects and the system of two objects before and after the collision. The table also displays the change in momentum of the individual objects and the system of two objects. In the second difficulty level -
- students are provided mass, speed, and direction information for two colliding carts. They must once more use the information to complete a momentum table. In both the
difficulty levels, one of the objects is at rest before the collision. The third difficulty level -
difficulty level except that both objects are moving before the collision occurs. In all three levels, the two colliding objects bounce apart and move with different speeds after the collision.
The three difficulty levels in this Concept Builder are summarized as follows:
The questions and images used in this Concept Builder are shown below. Teachers are encouraged to view the questions in order to judge which difficulty level is most appropriate for their classes.
The Physics Classroom grants teachers and other users the right to print these questions for private use. Users are also granted the right to copy the text and modify it for their own use. However, this document should not be uploaded to other servers for distribution to and/or display by others. The Physics Classroom website should remain the only website or server from which this document is distributed or displayed. We also provide a PDF that teachers can use under the same conditions. We have included a link to the PDF near the bottom of this page.
Question Group 1
Question 1
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 60 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is initially at rest. The collision causes the red cart to slow down and the blue cart to be set in motion with a momentum of 40 kg•cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 2
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 80 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is initially at rest. The collision causes the red cart to slow down and the blue cart to be set in motion with a momentum of 20 kg•cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 2
Question 3
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 60 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is also moving rightward with a momentum of 30 kg•cm/s. The collision causes the red cart to slow down and the blue cart to increase its momentum to 50 kg•cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 4
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 80 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is also moving rightward with a momentum of 40 kg•cm/s. The collision causes the red cart to slow down and the blue cart to increase its momentum to 70 kg•cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 3
Question 5
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 40 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is also moving rightward with a momentum of 60 kg•cm/s. The collision causes the red cart to lose 15 kg•cm/s of momentum.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 6
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 60 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is also moving rightward with a momentum of 80 kg•cm/s. The collision causes the red cart to lose 25 kg•cm/s of momentum.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 4
Question 7
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 100 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is also moving rightward with a momentum of 60 kg•cm/s. The collision causes the red cart to slow down and the blue cart to increase its momentum to 90 kg•cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 8
A red cart is moving rightward with a momentum of 100 kg•cm/s when it collides with a blue cart that is also moving rightward with a momentum of 80 kg•cm/s. The collision causes the red cart to slow down and the blue cart to increase its momentum to 140 kg•cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 5
Question 9
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
b. The momentum of the red cart equals the momentum of the blue cart.
c. The system momentum before the collision equals the system momentum after the collision.
d. The momentum of the red cart and the momentum of the blue cart equal the total momentum.
e. The momentum of the red cart is the same before and after the collision; the same is true of the blue cart.
Question 10
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
b. The momentum of the red cart equals the momentum of the blue cart.
c. The system momentum before the collision equals the system momentum after the collision.
d. The momentum of the red cart and the momentum of the blue cart equal the total momentum.
e. The momentum of the red cart is the same before and after the collision; the same is true of the blue cart.
Question Group 6
Question 11
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. Neither the red cart nor the blue cart have a momentum change.
b. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
c. The momentum of the red cart is equal to the momentum of the blue cart.
d. The momentum lost by the red cart is equal to the momentum gained by the blue cart.
e. The momentum of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum of the blue cart.
Question 12
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. Neither the red cart nor the blue cart have a momentum change.
b. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
c. The momentum of the red cart is equal to the momentum of the blue cart.
d. The momentum lost by the red cart is equal to the momentum gained by the blue cart.
e. The momentum of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum of the blue cart.
Master Difficulty Level
Question Group 7
Question 13
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 50 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 40 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 10 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 14
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 60 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 40 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 20 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 8
Question 15
A 1.00-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 60 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 80 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 20 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 16
A 1.00-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 40 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 50 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 15 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 9
Question 17
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 60 cm/s when it collides with a 1.00-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 24 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 12 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 18
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 80 cm/s when it collides with a 1.00-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 30 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 20 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 10
Question 19
A 1.00-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 60 cm/s when it collides with a 2.00-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 25 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 10 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 20
A 1.00-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 40 cm/s when it collides with a 2.00-kg blue cart that is initially at rest. After the collision, the blue cart begins moving rightward with a speed of 15 cm/s. The red cart is still moving rightward but has slowed down to a speed of 10 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 11
Question 21
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
b. The momentum of the red cart equals the momentum of the blue cart.
c. The system momentum before the collision equals the system momentum after the collision.
d. The momentum of the red cart and the momentum of the blue cart equal the total momentum.
e. The momentum of the red cart is the same before and after the collision; the same is true of the blue cart.
Question 22
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
b. The momentum of the red cart equals the momentum of the blue cart.
c. The system momentum before the collision equals the system momentum after the collision.
d. The momentum of the red cart and the momentum of the blue cart equal the total momentum.
e. The momentum of the red cart is the same before and after the collision; the same is true of the blue cart.
Question Group 12
Question 23
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. Neither the red cart nor the blue cart have a momentum change.
b. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
c. The momentum of the red cart is equal to the momentum of the blue cart.
d. The momentum lost by the red cart is equal to the momentum gained by the blue cart.
e. The momentum of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum of the blue cart.
Question 24
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. Neither the red cart nor the blue cart have a momentum change.
b. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
c. The momentum of the red cart is equal to the momentum of the blue cart.
d. The momentum lost by the red cart is equal to the momentum gained by the blue cart.
e. The momentum of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum of the blue cart.
Wizard Difficulty Level
Question Group 13
Question 25
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 40.0 cm/s when it collides with a 1.00-kg blue cart that is moving leftward with a speed of 20.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart moves leftward with a speed of 30.0 cm/s and the blue cart moves rightward with a speed of 15.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 26
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 60.0 cm/s when it collides with a 1.00-kg blue cart that is moving leftward with a speed of 30.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart moves leftward with a speed of 40.0 cm/s and the blue cart moves rightward with a speed of 20.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 14
Question 27
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 100.0 cm/s when it collides with a 1.00-kg blue cart that is moving leftward with a speed of 20.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart continues moving rightward with a speed of 10.0 cm/s and the blue cart moves rightward with a speed of 25.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 28
A 0.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 100.0 cm/s when it collides with a 1.00-kg blue cart that is moving leftward with a speed of 30.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart continues moving rightward with a speed of 10.0 cm/s and the blue cart moves rightward with a speed of 15.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 15
Question 29
A 1.00-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 40.0 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is moving rightward with a speed of 20.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart moves rightward but slows down to a speed of 30.0 cm/s while the blue cart speeds up of to 40.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 30
A 1.00-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 50.0 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is moving rightward with a speed of 30.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart moves rightward but slows down to a speed of 40.0 cm/s while the blue cart speeds up of to 50.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 16
Question 31
A 1.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 40.0 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is moving rightward with a speed of 20.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart moves rightward but slows down to a speed of 30.0 cm/s while the blue cart speeds up of to 50.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question 32
A 1.50-kg red cart is moving rightward with a speed of 60.0 cm/s when it collides with a 0.50-kg blue cart that is moving rightward with a speed of 40.0 cm/s. After the collision, the red cart moves rightward but slows down to a speed of 50.0 cm/s while the blue cart speeds up of to 70.0 cm/s.
Enter the momentum values (in kg•cm/s) of each individual cart and of the system of two carts before and after the collision. Also indicate the change in momentum of each cart.
Question Group 17
Question 33
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
b. The momentum of the red cart equals the momentum of the blue cart.
c. The system momentum before the collision equals the system momentum after the collision.
d. The momentum of the red cart and the momentum of the blue cart equal the total momentum.
e. The momentum of the red cart is the same before and after the collision; the same is true of the blue cart.
Question 34
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
b. The momentum of the red cart equals the momentum of the blue cart.
c. The system momentum before the collision equals the system momentum after the collision.
d. The momentum of the red cart and the momentum of the blue cart equal the total momentum.
e. The momentum of the red cart is the same before and after the collision; the same is true of the blue cart.
Question Group 18
Question 35
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. Neither the red cart nor the blue cart have a momentum change.
b. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
c. The momentum of the red cart is equal to the momentum of the blue cart.
d. The momentum of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum of the blue cart.
e. The momentum change of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum change of the blue cart.
Question 36
Consider the following completed table for the collision between a red cart and a blue cart. Two of the cells of the table have been highlighted. Identify the statement that best describes this data.
a. Neither the red cart nor the blue cart have a momentum change.
b. The momentum of the red cart and the blue cart does not change.
c. The momentum of the red cart is equal to the momentum of the blue cart.
d. The momentum of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum of the blue cart.
e. The momentum change of the red cart is equal and opposite to the momentum change of the blue cart.