Homework Set 7A: Momentum and Impulse
1. What velocity must a car with a mass of 1210 kg have in order to have a momentum of 5.6 X 104 kg x
m/s to the east?
2. An ostrich with a mass of 146 kg is running to the right with a velocity of 17 m/s. Find the momentum
of the ostrich.
3. A 21 kg child is riding a 5.9 kg bike with a velocity of 4.5 m/s to the northwest.
a) What is the total momentum of the child and the bike together?
b) What is the momentum of the child?
c) What is the momentum of the bike?
4. A 0.50 kg football is thrown with a velocity of 15 m/s to the right. A stationary receiver catches the
ball and brings it to rest in 0.020 s. What is the force exerted on the receiver?
5. A 0.40 kg soccer ball approaches a player horizontally with a velocity of 18 m/s to the north. The
player strikes the ball and causes it to move in the opposite direction with a velocity of 22 m/s. What
impulse was delivered to the ball by the player?
6. A 0.50 kg object is a rest. A 3.00 N force to the right acts on the object during a time interval of 1.50 s.
a) What is the velocity of the object at the end of this interval?
b) At the end of this interval, a constant force of 4.00 N to the left is applied for 3.00 s. What is
the velocity at the end of the 3.00 s?
7. An 82 kg man drops from rest on a diving board 3.0 m above the surface of the water and comes to
rest 0.55 s after reaching the water. What force does the water exert on him?
8. If two particles have equal kinetic energies, do they have the same momentum? Explain.
9. A karate expert can break a stack of boards in half by hitting the boards with the side of one bare had.
Will the boards break more easily if they are struck swiftly or slowly? Explain.
10. How do car bumpers that collapse on impact help protect a driver?
11. Calculate the linear momentum for each of the following cases:
a) a proton with mass 1.67 X 10-27 kg moving with a velocity of 5.00 X 106 m/s straight up
b) a 15.0 g bullet moving with a velocity of 325 m/s to the right
c) A 75.0 kg sprinter running with a velocity of 10.0 m/s southwest
d) Earth (m= 5.98 X 1024 kg) moving in its orbit with a velocity equal to 2.98 X 104 m/s west
Homework Set 7B: Momentum and Impulse
1. A 63.0 kg astronaut is on a spacewalk when the tether line to the shuttle breaks. The astronaut is able
to throw a 10.0 kg oxygen tank in a direction away from the shuttle with a speed of 12.0 m/s, propelling
the astronaut back to the shuttle.
a) Assuming that the astronaut starts from rest, find the final speed of the astronaut after
throwing the tank.
b) Determine the maximum distance the astronaut can be from the craft when the line breaks in
order to return to the craft within 60.0 s.
2. An 85.0 kg fisherman jumps from a dock into a 135.0 kg rowboat at rest on the west side of the dock.
If the velocity of the fisherman is 4.30 m/s to the west as he leaves the dock, what is the final velocity of
the fisherman and the boat?
3. Each croquet ball in a set has a mass of 0.50 kg. The green ball, traveling at 12.0 m/s, strikes the blue
ball, which is at rest. Assuming that all collisions are head-on, find the final speed of the blue ball in each
of the following situations:
a) The green ball stops moving after it strikes the blue ball.
b) The green ball continues moving after the collision at 2.4 m/s in the same direction.
c) The green ball continues moving after the collision at 0.3 m/s in the same direction.
d) The blue ball and the green ball move in the same direction after the collision; the green ball
has a speed of 1.6 m/s.
4. A 0.25 kg arrow with a velocity of 12 m/s to the west strikes and pierces the center of a 6.8 kg target.
a) What is the final velocity of the combined mass?
b) What is the decrease in kinetic energy during the collision?
5. A 56 kg ice skater traveling at 4.0 m/s to the north suddenly grabs the hand of a 65 kg skater traveling
at 12.0 m/s in the opposite direction as they pass. The two skaters continue to skate together with
joined hands.
a) What is the final velocity of the two skaters?
b) What is the decrease in kinetic energy during the collision?
6. A 0.015 kg marble moving to the right at 22.5 cm/s makes a perfectly elastic head-on collision with a
0.015 kg marble moving to the left at 18.0 cm/s.
a) Find the velocity of the second marble after the collision
b) Verify your answer by calculating the total kinetic energy before and after the collision
7. A 4.0 kg bowling ball moving to the right at 8.0 m/s has a perfectly elastic head-on collision with
another 4.0 kg bowling ball initially at rest. The first ball stops after the collision.
a) Find the velocity of the second ball after the collision
b) Verify your answer by calculating the total kinetic energy before and after the collision.
8. As a ball falls toward Earth, the momentum of the ball increases. How would you reconcile this
observation with the law of conservation of momentum?
9. When a bullet is fired from a gun, what happens to the gun? Explain, using the principles of
momentum discussed in this chapter.
10. A 0.10 kg ball of dough is thrown straight up into the air with an initial velocity of 15 m/s.
a) Find the momentum of the ball of dough at its maximum height
b) Find the momentum of the ball of dough halfway to its maximum height on the way up
11. Two skaters initially at rest push against each other so that they move in opposite directions. What is
the total momentum of the two skaters when they begin moving? Explain.
12. A 7.50 kg laundry bag is dropped from rest at an initial height of 3.00 m.
a) What is the speed of Earth toward the bag just before the bag hits the ground? Use the value
5.98 X 1024 kg as the mass of Earth.
b) Use your answer in part (a) to justify disregarding the motion of the Earth when dealing with
the motion of objects on Earth
13. After being struck by a bowling ball, a 1.5 kg bowling pin moving to the right at 3.0 m/s collides
head-on with another 1.5 kg bowling pin initially at rest. Find the final velocity of the second pin in the
following situations:
a) the first pin moves to the right after the collision at 0.5 m/s
b) the first pin stops moving when it hits the second pin