9

Impulse and
Momentum
 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you
master the nature of Physics. The scope of this module permits it to be used in
many different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse
vocabulary level of students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard
sequence of the course. However, the order in which you read them can be
changed to correspond with the textbook you are now using.

This module is divided into two lessons namely:

• Lesson 1- Impulse and Momentum
• Lesson 2- Conservation of Momentum

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. relate impulse and momentum to the collision of objects (e.g., vehicular
collision) (S9FE- IVb-36);
2. identify the factors that may affect the motion of objects; and
3. infer that the total momentum before and after the collision is equal
(S9FE- IVb-36).

What I Know

Directions: Read each statement carefully. Choose the letter of the best
answer. Write it in your notebook/on a separate sheet of paper.
1. Two identical cars are traveling along EDSA. Which of the two cars has a
greater momentum?
a. the slower car
b. the faster car
c. both have the same momentum
d. cannot be easily determined
2. A bus and a car are traveling along EDSA with the same velocity. Which of the
two vehicles has a greater momentum?
a. the bus
b. the car
c. both have the same momentum
d. cannot be easily determined
For questions 3 and 4, refer to the table below:
vehicle mass (kg) Velocity (m/s)
jeepney 2000 10
Motorcycle 300 20
3. Based on the given table above, what is the momentum of the jeepney?
1
 a. 6,000 kg-m/s
b. 40,000 kg-m/s
c. 20,000 kg-m/s
d. 3,000 kg-m/s
4. Which has a greater momentum, the jeepney or the motorcycle?
a. jeepney
b. motorcycle
c. cannot be determined
d. both have the same momentum
5. A moderate force will break an egg. However, an egg dropped on the road
usually breaks, while the one dropped on the grass doesn’t. Why do you
think the egg dropped on the grass was not broken? a. The change in
momentum is less.
b. The change in momentum is greater.
c. The time interval for stopping is less.
d. The time interval for stopping is greater.
6. What is the impulse experienced by the body?
a. momentum
b. velocity
c. kinetic energy
d. potential energy
7. In certain martial arts, people practice breaking a piece of wood with the side
of their bare hands. Based on your understanding of impulse, explain how
this can be done without an injury on the hand.
a. Given the same change in momentum, when the time interval is
smaller, the impact force is bigger.
b. Given the same change in momentum, when the time interval is bigger,
the impact force is bigger.
c. Given the same change in momentum, when the time interval is
smaller, the impact force is smaller.
d. Given the same change in momentum, when the time interval is bigger,
the impact force is smaller.
8. Cars X, Y, and Z begin accelerating from rest at the same time. Car X is more
massive than car Y, while car Y is more massive than car Z. The net
accelerating force exerted on each car is identical. After 10 seconds,
which car has the most amount of momentum?
a. Car X
b. Car Y
c. Car Z
d. Cars X, Y, and Z
9. Which of the following is calculated by the momentum of any object?
a. dividing mass by velocity
b. multiplying mass by velocity
c. dividing force by acceleration
d. multiplying mass by acceleration
10. What is impulse equal to?
a. change in mass of an object
b. the change in volume of an object
c. the original momentum of an object
d. a force applied to an object for a period of time

2
 Lesson

1 Impulse and Momentum

What makes things move? Why do some objects move continuously
while some moving objects stop suddenly? These might be some of the questions
you had in mind but were not really answered in last year’s science class.
In grade 8, you have learned that unbalanced forces caused stationary
objects to move. In fact, according to Newton’s Second Law of Motion, the
greater the force applied, the larger the acceleration of an object. It also stated
that with the same force, heavier objects have smaller acceleration, thus, Net
force = mass x acceleration or F net= ma. Now let’s have a deeper understanding
of this topic.

What’s In
Activity 1
Directions: Write T if the statement is TRUE and if otherwise, choose the words
that make it incorrect. Write your answers in your notebook/ on a separate sheet
of paper.
1. A force is a push or a pull upon an object resulting from the objects’ interaction
with another object.
2. Velocity is a scalar measurement of the rate and direction of motion.
3. The basic SI unit of mass is Joule.
4. Newton’s first law is sometimes referred to as the law of inertia.
5. A vector is a quantity that has both a magnitude and a direction.

What’s New

Activity 2: What affects motion?

Directions: Study and analyze the pictures below. Answer the given questions
carefully and write them in your notebook/ on a separate sheet of paper.

3
 Source: http://www.hk-phy.org/contextual/mechanics/mom/momen01_e.html
Figure 1. A truck and a car
Consider a cargo truck with a mass of 10,000 kilograms traveling at a velocity of
40 kilometers per hour and a small car with a mass of 2000 kilograms traveling
at the same velocity as shown in Figure 1.
If the two vehicles suddenly lose their breaks and crash against the brick wall,
a. which do you think would be more damaging?
b. on what factor would the impact of collision depend if their velocities are
the same?

What is It

Momentum in a simple way is a quantity of motion. Here quantity is

measurable because if an object is moving and has mass, then it has momentum.
If an object does not move, then it has no momentum. However, in everyday life
it has importance but many people do not recognize it. Momentum is just about
every activity that involves motion. It is an essential concept in Physics. In sports,
momentum term is commonly observed. For example, when a baseball bat hits
the ball, the ball will be squished to a certain degree. After few milliseconds, it
rebounds back and some momentum is lost or transferred elsewhere.
The momentum of a body is defined as the product of its mass and velocity.
This we can better understand with the help of an example: A cricket ball is much
heavier than a tennis ball. Suppose we throw a cricket ball and a tennis ball, both
with the same speed or velocity. It will be found that more force is required to
stop the cricket ball which has more mass and less force is required to stop the
tennis ball which has less mass. Therefore, we can say that the force required to
stop a moving body is directly proportional to its mass.
When we throw two cricket balls of the same mass but with different speed
or velocities then it will be found that more force is required to stop that cricket
ball which is moving with higher speed or velocity than another with lower speed
or velocity. So, we can say that the force required to stop a moving body is also
directly proportional to its velocity. Thus, the quantity of motion in a body
depends on the mass and velocity of the body.
Momentum is a vector quantity and takes place in the direction of velocity.
SI unit of momentum is kilogram meters per second or kg. m/s.
Momentum = mass x velocity or p=mv

4
 Where p= momentum
m = mass
v = velocity or speed
If a body is at rest, its velocity is zero and so its momentum will also be zero. This
simple relationship means that doubling either the mass or velocity of an object
will simply double the momentum.
Example:
If a 6.0 kg bowling ball is rolled with a velocity of 3.5 m/s, what is the
momentum of the ball?

Given: m= 6.0 kg
v= 3.5 m/s
Find: p= ?

Solution:
Formula for momentum is
p= mv
Then, substitute the given values to the equation
p= 6.0 kg (3.5 m/s)
p = 21 kg.m/s
Impulse

Impulse is a term that quantifies the overall effect of force acting over
time. It is conventionally given the symbol I, and expressed in Newton-seconds
N.s). For a constant force, I=F⋅Δt.

Do you still remember Newton’s Second Law of Motion? It states that the
net force is directly proportional to the mass of a body and its acceleration. In
equation form,

F = ma
Since 𝑎 = 𝑣𝑓−, then
F = m(vf– vi) / t .

Rearranging the equation will give you

Ft = mvf– mvi
Since p = mv, then
Ft = pf – pi
or
Ft = Δp
Let’s try this:

Tiger Woods hits a 0.02 kg golf ball, giving it a speed of 25 m/s. What impulse
does he impart to the ball?
Given: m = 0.02 kg
Δv = 25 m/s – 0 = 25 m/s
Find: I

Solution:
Since the golf ball is initially at rest, the initial velocity is equal to zero.

5
 Thus,
I = Δp = mΔv
= (0.02 kg)(25 m/s)
= 0.50 kg-m/s or 0.50 Ns

One of the reasons why impulse is important and useful is that in the real
world, forces are often not constant. Forces due to things like people and engines
tend to build up from zero over time and may vary depending on many factors.
Working out the overall effect of all these forces directly would be quite difficult.

Lesson
Conservation of
2 Momentum

Conservation of momentum states that for a collision between object 1 and

object 2 in an isolated system, the total momentum of the 2 objects before the
collision is equal to the momentum of the 2 objects after the collision. The
momentum lost by object 1 is equal to the momentum gained by object 2.

A useful analogy for understanding this concept involves a money

transaction between two people. Let’s say the 2 people were Anika and Paula.
Suppose that before the transaction, Anika and Paula have Php100 in their
pocket, the total amount of money of the 2 people is Php 200. During the
transaction, Paula pays Php 50 for a given item bought. There is Php 50 transfer
from Paula’s pocket to Anika’s pocket. Paula lost Php 50 and Anika gained Php
50. The money lost by Paula is equal to the money gained by Anika. After the
transaction, Paula has Php 50 left in her pocket and Anika has Php 150 in her
pocket and the total amount of money of the two people after the transaction is
Php 200. It could be said that the total money before the transaction is equal to
the total money of the two people after the transaction.
Before Transaction After Transaction Change
Anika Php 100 Php 50 Php -50
Pulen Php 100 Php 150 Php +50
Total Php 200 Php 200
The table shows that the total money of the 2 people before the
transaction is equal to the total money after the transaction- it is conserved.

We can say that:

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙

𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟

𝜌𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝜌𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑣𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 =
𝑚𝑣𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟 0 = (𝑚𝑣)1
+ (𝑚𝑣)2
Exercises:

6
1. An 11kg stone moving at 33 m/s strikes a send stone at rest. After a
collision, the 11 kg stone is moving with a velocity of 13 m/s and the second
stone is moving with a velocity of 8 m/s. What is the mass of the second stone?

Given:
Before Collision After Collision
Stone 1 Stone 2 Stone 1 Stone 2
mass 11 kg 𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2 11 kg 𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2
velocity 33 m/s 0 m/s 13 m/s 8 m/s

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟

Solution:
𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒

𝜌𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝜌𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑣𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝑚𝑣𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑣1 + 𝑚𝑣2 = 𝑚𝑣1 + 𝑚𝑣2
𝑚 𝑚 𝑚 𝑚
(11 kg ∗ 33 𝑠 ) + (𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2 ∗ 0 𝑠 ) = (11 kg ∗ 13 𝑠 ) + (𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2 ∗ 8 𝑠 )
𝑘𝑔∗𝑚 𝑘𝑔∗𝑚 𝑚
(363 𝑠 ) + 0 = (143 𝑠 ) + (𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2 ∗ 8 𝑠 )
𝑘𝑔 ∗ 𝑚 𝑘𝑔 ∗ 𝑚 𝑚
(363 ) − (143 ) = (𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2 ∗ 8 )
𝑠 𝑠 𝑠 𝑘𝑔 ∗ 𝑚 𝑚
(220 ) = (𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2 ∗ 8 )
𝑠 𝑠
𝑘𝑔∗𝑚
220
𝑠
𝑚 = 𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2
8
𝑠
27.5 kg= 𝑚𝑐𝑎𝑟2

2. A 0.5kg ball strikes a second 1.5kg ball at rest. After a collision, the 0.5 kg
ball is moving with a velocity of 13 m/s and the second ball is moving with a
velocity of 8 m/s. What is the initial velocity of the first ball?
Given:

Before Collision After Collision

ball 1 ball 2 ball 1 ball 2
mass 0.5 kg 1.5 kg 0.5 kg 1.5 kg
velocity 𝑣𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙1 0 m/s 13 m/s 8 m/s

𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚 𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝑇𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙

Solution:

𝑀𝑜𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑢𝑚𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝜌𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝜌𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑣𝑏𝑒𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑒 = 𝑚𝑣𝑎𝑓𝑡𝑒𝑟
𝑚𝑣1 + 𝑚𝑣2 = 𝑚𝑣1 + 𝑚𝑣2

(0.5 kg ∗ 𝑣𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙1) + (1.5 kg ∗ 0 𝑚

𝑠 ) = (0.5 kg ∗ 13 𝑚
𝑠 ) + (1.5 kg ∗ 8 𝑚
𝑠 )

7
 𝑘𝑔 ∗ 𝑚
(0.5 kg ∗ 𝑣𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙1) + 0 = 18.5
𝑠
𝑘𝑔∗𝑚
18.5
𝑣𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙1 = 𝑠
0.5 kg
𝑚
𝑣𝑏𝑎𝑙𝑙1 = 37
𝑠
Collisions happen when two objects come in direct contact with each other.
Collisions are categorized according to whether the total kinetic energy of the
system changes. Kinetic energy may be lost during the collision when (1) it is
converted to heat or other forms of energy and (2) it is spent in producing
deformation or damage such as when the two collide. There are two types of
collision: elastic collision and inelastic collision.

1. Elastic collision- the total kinetic energy of the system does not
change and colliding objects bounce off after the collision. An
example is the balls in billiard games.
2. Inelastic collision- the total kinetic energy of the system changes
or converted into another form of energy. Objects that stick
together after the collision are said to be perfectly inelastic. An
example is the collision of two cars.

The collision time affects the amount of force that an object experiences
during a collision. The greater the time over with the collision occurs the smaller
the force acting upon the object. Thus to minimize the force experienced by an
object during a collision the collision time must decrease. Likewise, to minimize
the fore the collision time must be increased. The airbags in automobiles
increase the collapse time and minimize the effect of fore on objects during a
collision. Airbags accomplish this by extending the time required to stop the
momentum of the passenger and the driver.

What’s More

Activity 3: What affects momentum?

Directions: Fill in the missing words. Choose your answer on the given choices
inside the box to complete the text. Write your answers in your notebook/on a
separate sheet of paper.

8
 velocity greater inertia car A different
same mass 1 st Law heavier momentum

Source:https://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~jsb6/resources/energymomentumhandout.pdf
Figure 2. Two vehicles of different masses.

Which of the two toy vehicles would be more difficult to stop – the lighter one
or the heavier one? The (1) __________ one is more difficult to stop. This is
because it possesses a greater (2) __________in motion which depends on an
object’s (3) __________ and (4) __________. Do you still remember Newton’s (5)
__________ of Motion? It is also known as the Law of Inertia. An object’s (6)
__________ is also known as inertia in motion. For objects moving at the same
velocity, a more massive object has greater inertia in motion therefore a (7)
___________ momentum. Momentum depends on two factors, mass and
velocity.

Figure 3. Two identical cars of different velocities

Consider the two identical cars on the left. Car A is traveling at 80 km/h while
Car B is traveling at 30 km/h. Which of the two cars would be more difficult to
stop? Which of the two cars has more momentum? (8)__________, being
faster, is more difficult to stop. It has more momentum. Two cars of the (9)
__________ mass but different velocities will also have (10) __________
momenta.

Activity 4: Fill me
Directions: Analyze and s olve the following problem s. Given the following
data on the tables below, solve for the momentum using the formula :
p=mv. Write your answers in your notebook/on a separate sheet of paper.
Table 2.
Object Mass(kg) Velocity (m/s) Momentum
(kg.m/s)
Baseball 0.14 30 (1.)
Soccer player 100 5 (2.)
Bullet 0.004 600 (3.)
Frog 0.9 12 (4.)
Bird 0.03 18 (5.)

Remember this:
Equation to use: If you are looking for: If you know:
𝑝 = 𝑚𝑣 momentum Mass and speed
𝑚 =𝑝 mass Momentum and velocity
v
9
 𝑣 =𝑝 velocity Momentum and mass
m

1. A bowling ball which mass is 4.0 kg is rolling at a rate of 2.5 m/s. What is
its momentum?
2. A skateboard is rolling at a velocity of 3.0 m/s with a momentum of 6.0 kg-
m/s. What is its mass?
3. A baseball was thrown with a mass of 0.5 kg and a momentum of 10 kg-
m/s. What is its velocity?
Activity 5: Word Search

Directions: List down at least 10 words that you could find that are related to
the lesson. Write your answers in your notebook/on a separate sheet of paper.

P E R F E C T L Y E L A S T I C E H P I R E M R
E S C E S R S E I T E A E R M T I M U L U S O L
S M R E H P M I M E H S N R P U M A L A H T T I
B C O R E I R A L A C O R T A X S S M C Y T I V
B R S M T N G I S W E V R E C S E S U S T H O L
S S A I E R S L L U S E B L T R V W L L I M N R
M O M E N T U M O S Y N A P S E A E L L C L S E
E T S E N S T R C O N S E R V E D R E H O C W S
L I S L S E E U C R C N I U M R I H B S L S H L
C R P O S V W O S I N E L A S T I C E S E L E U
U D E S S E V A T E A T L E D I T S R E V D E P
N N E A C E P S V P O P C G V H E O E D R A P M
M E D A E D A E L I N E R T I A B E C D B E V I
L D A E S L U M D E S Y A S C E L L A B O D Y I
F O R C E H N R U M A A E W N N O I S I L L O C

Activity 6

Directions: Analyze the given situations below and draw an illustration based
on it. Then, answer the questions that follow in your notebook/on a separate
sheet of paper.

10
 In this box draw an egg Draw an egg hitting a
hitting a brick wall and curtain/cloth and pushed
splattered in all directions. the cloth backwards.

Based on your illustrations:

1. Which egg experienced the greater impulse, the egg that hits the wall or the
egg that hits the curtain?
2. Which egg experienced the lesser force of impact?
3. How was the impact force lessened by the use of the curtain?
What I Have Learned
• Momentum of a body is defined as the product of mass and velocity
• SI unit for momentum is kilogram meter per second or kg.m/s
• Impulse is a resultant force that causes acceleration and a change in the
velocity of the body for as long as it acts
• SI unit for impulse is newton-second or N.s
• Conservation of momentum states that to which the quantity called
momentum that characterizes motion never changes in an isolated
collection of objects; that is the total momentum of a system remains
constant.
• A collision is an encounter between two objects resulting in the exchange
of impulse and momentum.
• The two general types of collisions in physics; elastic and inelastic. An
inelastic collision occurs when two objects collide and do not bounce away
from each other, while elastic collision is one in which the total kinetic
energy of the system does not change and colliding objects bounce off
after collision.

What I Can Do

11
Directions: Analyze and solve the problems given below. Write your solutions in
your notebook/ on a separate sheet of paper.

1. A 300 kg car moving with a velocity of 10 m/s hits a 1000 kg parked car.
The impact causes the 1000 kg car to be set in motion at 15 m/s.
Assuming that momentum is conserved during the collision, determine the
velocity of the car immediately after the collision.

2. A 2000 kg truck traveling at 25 m/s rear ends another 200kg truck at rest.
The two bumpers lock and the truck moves forward together. What is their
final velocity?

Assessment
Directions: Read each question carefully. Choose the letter of the best answer.
Write it in your notebook/on a separate sheet of paper.
1. A lady tennis player hits an approaching ball with a force of 790 N. If she hits
the ball in 0.002 s, how much impulse is imparted to the tennis ball?
a. 0 Ns
b. 3.0 N/s
c. 6.0 N/s
d. 1.58 Ns
2. Which is a necessary condition for the total momentum of a system to be
conserved?
a. An object must be at rest.
b. No external force is present.
c. Kinetic energy must not change.
d. Only the force of gravity acts on the system.
3. Which of the following equations can be used to directly calculate an object’s
momentum?
a. p = mv
b. p= m/v
c. p = FΔt
d. Δp = FΔt
4. When comparing the momentum of two moving objects, which of the
following is correct?
a. The more massive object will have less momentum if its velocity is
greater.
b. The less massive object will have less momentum if the velocities are
the same.

12
 c. The more massive object will have less momentum if the velocities
are the same.
d. The object with the higher velocity will have less momentum if the
masses are equal.
5. A roller coaster climbs up a hill at 4 m/s and then zips down the hill at 30 m/s.
What is the momentum of the roller coaster?
a. zero throughout the ride.
b. the same throughout the ride
c. greater down the hill than up the hill
d. greater up the hill than down the hill
6. A rubber ball moving at a speed of 5 m/s hit a flat wall and returned to the
thrower at 5 m/s. What is the magnitude of change in the ball’s momentum?
a. increased
b. decreased
c. remained the same
d. was not conserved
7. If a force is exerted on an object, which statement is true?
a. A large force always produces a large change in the object’s
momentum.
b. A small force always produces a large change in the object’s
momentum.
c. A small force applied over a long time interval can produce a large
change in the object’s momentum.
d. A large force produces a large change in the object’s momentum
only if the force is applied over a very short time
interval.
8. What is the change in an object’s momentum equal to?
a. The net external force is divided by the time interval.
b. The time interval is divided by the net external force.
c. the product of the mass of the object and the time interval
d. the product of the force applied to the object and the time interval
9. Which of the following situations is an example of a significant change in
momentum?
a. A tennis ball is hit into a net.
b. A bicyclist rides over a leaf on the pavement.
c. A helium-filled balloon rises upward into the sky.
d. An airplane flies into some scattered white clouds.
10. Which object has a greater momentum?
a. an average mass person walking
b. a sports car driving on a highway
c. an 18-wheeler tractor-trailer at rest
d. a baseball thrown by a professional pitcher
11. Two billiard balls approach each other at an equal speed. If they collide in a
perfectly elastic collision, what would be their velocities after collision?
a. Zero
b. Same in magnitude and direction
c. Same in magnitude but opposite in direction
d. Different in magnitude and opposite in direction
12. Which of the following is the result of a change in momentum? a. a force
b. an impulse
c. an acceleration
13
 d. all of the above
13. A boxer quickly learns to move his head back when he sees he is going to
receive a jab to the head. What does this head motion accomplish?
a. It causes confusion on the opponent.
b. It increases the momentum and decreases the force.
c. It increases the contact time which decreases the force.
d. It decreases the contact time which decreases the force.
14. A 50-kg astronaut ejects 100g of gas from his propulsion pistol at a velocity of
50 m/s. What is its resulting velocity? a. 0 m/s
b. -0.10 m/s
c. -0.50 m/s
d. -100 m/s
15. A heavy object and a light object have the same momentum. Which has the
greater speed?
a. light object
b. heavy object
c. both have the same speed
d. the heavy object has a zero speed while the light object has a nonzero
speed

Additional Activities

Directions: Read the situation and answer the question that follows and write
your answer in your notebook/on a separate sheet of paper.

Ever tried to stop a 35 g machine gun bullet fired towards you at a speed
of 750 m/s? No, probably not. But you may have tried to brace yourself in
a car collision.

Guide Question:
How are the two situations similar?

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