COLLISIONS & CM WORKSHEET

Read each question carefully. Show all of your work and equations used. Don’t forget units on finals
answers.

1. A 9800 N car traveling at 22 m/s strikes a concrete bridge support and comes to a complete halt in
0.5 sec.
a) Determine the magnitude of the force acting on the car.
b) Suppose a barrier, which contained material that is gradually crushed during impact so
that the stopping time was increased to 3 s, had surrounded the bridge support. What
would be the magnitude of the new force?

2. A 1 kg object traveling at 1 m/s collides head-on with a 2 kg object initially at rest. If the collision
is completely inelastic, determine the velocity of the objects after impact and how much kinetic
energy was lost during the collision.

3. Max, who has a mass of 80 kg and his girlfriend, Allison, who has a mass of 50 kg are wearing
skates and are standing together on a frozen lake. If they push apart and Max has a velocity of
0.72 m/s in the opposite direction of Allison, then what is the velocity of Allison? (Neglect
friction)

4. Stranded on a frozen and frictionless lake, David, who has a mass of 55 kg, takes off his new 0.15
kg Michael Jordan tennis shoes that he got from Santa Clause for Christmas. He throws the shoes
horizontally directly away from the shore with a speed of 2 m/s. If David is 5 m away from shore,
how long does it take before he reaches land?

5. For a movie scene, a 60 kg, Jenna drops from a tree onto a 50 kg sled moving with a velocity of 6
m/s toward the shore of a frozen lake.
a) What is the speed of the sled after Jenna is on board?
b) If the sled hits the bank and stops but Jenna keeps going, then what speed does he leave
the sled?
6. Locate the center of mass of the two-particle system shown in the figure below from the reference
of the 4 kg mass.

2m
m2 = 1 kg
m1 = 4 kg

7. The mass of the Sun is 329,390 Earth masses, and the mean distance from the center of the Sun to
the center of the Earth is 1.496 x 108 km. Treating the Earth and Sun as particles, with each mass
concentrated at its respective geometric center; how far from the center of the Sun is the center of
mass of the Earth-Sun system? Compare this distance with the mean radius of the Sun (6.96 x 105
km).

8. Where is the center of mass of the three-particle system shown below using the origin as the
reference point?
y(m)
(-2,3) M1 M1 = 7 kg
(1,1) M2 = 5 kg
M2 M3 = 9 kg

x (m)
(-4,-3)
M3
 MOMENTUM & IMPULSE WORKSHEET

1. A compact car, mass of 725 kg, is moving at 100 km/hr.

(a) Find its momentum.

(b) At what velocity is the momentum of a larger car, mass of 2175 kg, equal
to that of the smaller car?

2. A snowmobile has a mass of 250 kg. A constant force is exerted on it for 60 s.

The snowmobile’s initial velocity is 6 m/s and it accelerates to 28 m/s
(a) What is its change in momentum?

(b) What is the magnitude of the force exerted on it?

3. The brakes exert a 640 N force on a car weighing 15,680 N and moving at 20 m/s.
The car finally stops.
(a) What is the car’s mass?

(b) What is its initial momentum?

(c) What is the change in the car’s momentum?

(d) How long does the braking force act on the car to bring it to a halt?

4. A force of 6 N acts on a 3 kg object for 10 sec.

(a) What is the object’s change in momentum?

(b) What is its change in velocity?

5. The velocity of a 600 kg automobile is changed from 10 m/s to 44 m/s in 68 s by

an applied constant force.
(a) What is the change in momentum does the force produce?

(b) What is the magnitude of the force?

Chapter 9: Momentum and Collisions
Read each problem carefully. Be sure to use the correct equation(s). Show all of your work. Be sure to
box and label final answers.

1. A ball of mass 0.440 kg moving with a speed of 4.5 m/s collides head-on with a 0.220 kg ball at
rest. If the collision is elastic, what will be the speed of each ball after the collision?

2. A 4 kg ball with a velocity of 4 m/s in the positive x-direction has a head-on elastic collision with
a stationary 2 Kg ball. What are the velocities of the balls after the collision?

3. A ball with a mass of 100 g is traveling with a velocity of 50 cm/s in the positive x-direction and
collides head-on with a 5 Kg ball that was at rest. Assuming that it is elastic, find the velocities
(in m/s) of the balls after the collision.

4. A 100 g bullet is fired horizontally into a 14.9 kg block of wood resting on a horizontal surface,
and the bullet becomes embedded in the block. If the muzzle velocity of the bullet is 250 m/s,
what is the velocity of the block containing the embedded bullet immediately after impact?
(Neglect surface friction)
5. A 90 kg astronaut Travis is stranded in space at a point 12 m from his spaceship. In order to get
back to his ship, Travis throws a 0.50 kg piece of equipment so that it moves at a speed of 4 m/s
directly away from the spaceship. How long will it take him to reach the ship?

6. A 0.300 kg ball, moving with a speed of 2.5 m/s, has a head-on collision with at 0.600 kg ball
initially at rest. Assuming a perfectly elastic collision, what will be the velocity of each ball after
the collision?

7. Two billiard balls of equal mass undergo a perfectly elastic head-on collision. If the speed of one
ball was initially 2 m/s, and the other was 3 m/s in the opposite direction, what will be their speeds
after the collision?

8. A 2.5 kg block sliding on a frictionless horizontal surface with a constant velocity of 6 m/s
approaches a stationary 6.5 kg block. If the blocks have a completely inelastic collision, what is
their velocity after the collision?

9. A 100 g bullet is fired horizontally into a 14.9 kg block of wood resting on a

horizontal surface, and the bullet becomes embedded in the block. If the muzzle
velocity of the bullet is 250 m/s, what is the velocity of the block containing the
embedded bullet immediately after impact? (Neglect surface friction)
10. Block A with mass 12 kg moving 2.4 m/s makes an elastic head-on collision with
block B, mass 36 kg, which is at rest. Find the velocities of the two blocks after
the collision.

11. Darcy who has a mass of 65 kg is ice skating and traveling at 4 m/s to the north.
Traveling in the opposite direction of Adele, Darcy suddenly grabs the hand of
Adele, who has a mass of 56 kg and is traveling at 12 m/s. While holding hands,
the two girls continue skating together with joined hands. What is the final
velocity of the two skaters?

12. Brett, who has a mass of 76 kg and is initially at rest in a stationary 45 kg boat,
steps out of the boat and onto a dock. If the boater, Brett, moves out of the boat
with a velocity of 2.5 m/s to the right, what is the velocity of the boat?

13. A 2,250 kg car is slowed down uniformly from 20 m/s to 5 m/s in 4 seconds.
What is the constant force acting on the car during this time?
14. You are sitting at a LCHS baseball game when Brent hits a foul ball that comes
your way. Not having a glove, you prepare to catch Brent’s foul ball barehanded.
In order to catch it safely, should you move your hands toward the ball, hold them
still, or move them in the same direction as the moving ball? Explain using the
concept of change of momentum and impulse. Be sure to use complete sentences.

15. Block A with mass 12 kg moving 2.4 m/s makes an elastic collision with block B, mass 36 kg,
which is at rest. Find the velocities of the two blocks after the collision.

16. Jayme, who has a mass of 40 kg, is ice-skating and traveling at 4 m/s to the north towards
Anthony, who has a mass of 65 kg and is traveling South at 12 m/s towards Jayme. As the two
approach each other, Jayme suddenly grabs the arm of Anthony. While holding his arm, the two
continue skating together. What is the final velocity of Jayme and Anthony skating together?

17. Ashleigh and August dock a paddle boat. Ashleigh, who has a mass of 50 kg, moves forward at
3.8 m/s as she leaves the boat. At what speed and in what direction do the paddle boat and August
move if their combined mass is 105 kg?

18. A 23 g bullet traveling 230 m/s penetrates a 2.0 kg block of wood and emerges cleanly at 170 m/s.
If the block is stationary on a frictionless surface when hit, how fast does it move after the bullet
emerges?

19. A 50 g tennis ball travels at a velocity of 15 m/s, hits a basketball with a mass of 600 g that is
stationary on a frictionless surface and then rebounds back in the opposite direction with a velocity
of -6 m/s . How fast will the basketball be moving after the collision?
PART II: Fill In
Write the answer that best completes each statement in the space to the left.

20. _______________________________ Momentum is the product of an object’s ___ and velocity.

21. _______________________________The quantity Ft is called ____.

22. _______________________________ The change of momentum for an object is equal to and

caused by the ___ given to the object.

23. _______________________________ If the momentum of a cannon is considered positive after it

fires a shell, the momentum of the shell is considered ___.

24. _______________________________ A moving object containing a bomb explodes. If the object

had a total of 20 units of momentum just before the
explosion, its pieces would have a total of ___ units of
momentum just after the explosion.

25. _______________________________ A(n) ____ force cannot change the momentum of a system.

26. _______________________________ In a system consisting of objects upon which no external

force is acting, the momentum of the system is ___.

27. _______________________________ The unit of momentum in the SI system is ____.

Define each of the following

28. Impulse –

29. Linear Momentum –

30. Impulse-momentum theorem –

31. Closed system –

32. Isolated system –

33. Law of conservation of momentum –

34. Elastic Collision –

35. Completely Inelastic Collision –

36. Inelastic Collision –

Answer the following questions.

37. Write the equation for momentum and its units.

38. Can a bullet and a truck have the same momentum? Explain.

39. Considering impulse, why are cars made with bumpers that can be pushed during a crash?

40. When you ride a bicycle at full speed and the bike stops suddenly, why do you have to push hard
on the handlebars to keep from flying off?

41. Why do you tend to lean backward when carrying a heavy load in your arms?
 Conservation of Momentum – The total momentum of any closed, isolated system does not change.
This law allows you to make connections between objects before and after they collide.
po = p
m1v1o + m2v2o = m1v1 + m2v2

Isolated system – A closed system that is free

from the influence of a net external force that can
change the momentum of the system; a closed
system does not gain or lose mass (objects neither
enter nor leave it).

Types of collisions –

(1) Inelastic collision – Momentum is conserved but not kinetic energy. The kinetic energy, which
is lost, is turned into heat, sound, etc.
Use the conservation equation to solve these collision problems…

m1v1o + m2v2o = m1v1 + m2v2

(2) Elastic collision – Both momentum and kinetic energy are conserved; takes place at the sub-
atomic level. The objects have a “head-on” collision and bounce off each other.
Use the following equations to solve these collision problems…

 m m   2m 
v1 =  m1  m2  v1o +  m  m
2
 v2o
 1 2   1 2 

 2m   m m 
v2 =  m  1m  v1o +  m2  m1  v2o
 1 2   1 2 

(3) Perfectly (Completely) Inelastic collision – Two objects collide and stick together so that their
final velocities are the same; only momentum is conserved.
Use the following equation to solve these collision problems…

m1v1o + m2v2o = (m1+ m2) v

(4) Explosion – The two objects are

together and then separate; recoil. It is
like a backwards perfectly (completely)
inelastic collision. The collision starts
from rest (vo = 0).
Use the following equation to solve these
types of collision problems…

vo(m1+ m2) = m1v1 + m2v2