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 momentum. If an object is in motion (on the move) then it has 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 equation, the momentum of an object is equal to the mass of the object times the velocity of the object.

Momentum = mass • velocity

In physics, the symbol for the quantity momentum is the lower case "p". Thus, the above equation can be rewritten as

p = m • v

where m is the mass and v is the velocity.

The equation illustrates that momentum is directly proportional to an object's mass and directly proportional to the object's velocity.

 

Express your understanding of the concept and mathematics of momentum by answering the following questions. Click the button to view the answers.

1. Determine the momentum of a ...

a. 60-kg halfback moving eastward at 9 m/s. b. 1000-kg car moving northward at 20 m/s.
c. 40-kg freshman moving southward at 2 m/s.
 

Answer 

2. A car possesses 20 000 kg ms-1 of momentum. What would be the car's new momentum if ...

a. its velocity was doubled.b. its velocity was tripled.
c. its mass was doubled (by adding more passengers and a greater load)
d. both its velocity was doubled and its mass was doubled.

Answer