Edexcel A2 Physics

Questions and answers

1.1.1 Momentum Questions1

What is the momentum of: a a plane of mass 2 10

5

kg flying at 270 ms
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b a horse of mass of 400kg carrying a rider of mass 75 kg, galloping at 10 m s

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? 2

In the worked example on page 12, it was estimated that a cricket batsman might need to use 80 N tostop a ball dead. a

Explain why a batsman hitting a ball so that it travels away at the same speed might need lessthan 80 N force to play his shot.

b Explain why the same batsman playing the same ball might need more than 80 N force to play ashot. 3

An 800 kg car is travelling at 33 m s

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. How much force must the brakes apply, if they are to stop the car completely in four seconds?

4 a In a car crash, a passenger with a mass of 82 kg is not wearing a seatbelt. The car is travelling at45 km h
-1

. What impulse must the cars airbag provide in order to stop the passengers motion? b Explain why hitting an airbag

will cause less injury than if a passenger hits the dashboard. 5 A wooden mallet is being used to hammer a tent

peg into hard ground. fig. 1.1.5a The head of the mallet is a cylinder of diameter 0.100 m and length 0.196 m. The density of

thewood is 750 kg m

. Show that the mass of the head is approximately 1.2 kg. b

The head strikes the tent peg as shown at a speed of 4.20 m s

and rebounds at 0.58 m s

.Calculate the magnitude of its momentum change in the collision. c The head is in contact with the peg for 0.012 s.

Estimate the average force exerted on the peg bythe head during this period. d Give a reason why your value

for the force will only be approximate. e With reference to your calculations above, discuss whether a mallet with a rubber

head of thesame mass would be more or less effective for hammering in tent pegs