How To Compute Impact Force

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How to Calculate Force of Impact
How to Calculate the Force of a Falling Object
RELATED
Updated December 06, 2020
By Timothy Banas
During an impact, the energy of a moving object is converted into work, and force plays an important
role. To create an equation for the force of any impact, you can set the equations for energy and work
equal to each other and solve for force. From there, calculating the force of an impact is relatively easy.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)
To calculate the force of impact, divide kinetic energy by distance.
Impact and Energy
Energy is defined as the ability to do work. During an impact, an object's energy is converted into work.
The energy of a moving object is called kinetic energy, and is equal to one half of the object's mass times
the square of its velocity:
KE=\frac{1]{2}mv^2
When thinking about the impact force of a falling object, you can calculate the energy of the object at its
point of impact if you know the height from which it was dropped. This type of energy is known as
gravitational potential energy and it is equal to the object's mass multiplied by the height from which it
was dropped and the acceleration due to gravity:
PE=mghPE=mgh
Impact and Work
Work occurs when a force is applied to move an object a certain distance. Therefore, work is equal to
force multiplied by distance:
W=FdW=Fd
Because force is a component of work and an impact is the conversion of energy into work, you can use
the equations for energy and work to solve for the force of an impact. The distance traveled when the
work is accomplished by an impact is called the stop distance. It is the distance traveled by the moving
object after the impact has occurred.
Impact From a Falling Object
Suppose you want to know the impact force of a rock with a mass of one kilogram that falls from a
height of two meters and embeds itself two centimeters deep inside of a plastic toy. The first step is to
set the equations for gravitational potential energy and work equal to each other and solve for force.
W=PE=Fd=mgh \implies F=\frac{mgh}{d}W=PE=Fd=mgh⟹F=
mgh
The second and final step is to plug the values from the problem into the equation for force. Remember
to use meters, not centimeters, for all distances. The stop distance of two centimeters must be
expressed as two hundredths of a meter. Also, the acceleration due to gravity on Earth is always 9.8
meters per second per second. The force of impact from the rock will be:
F=\frac{(1)(9.8)(2)}{0.02}=980\text{ N}F=
0.02
(1)(9.8)(2)
=980 N
Impact From a Horizontally Moving Object

Now suppose you want to know the impact force of a 2,200-kilogram car traveling at 20 meters per
second that crashes into a wall during a safety test. The stop distance in this example is the crumple
zone of the car, or the distance by which the car shortens on impact. Suppose the car is squished
enough to be three quarters of a meter shorter than it was before the impact. Again, the first step is to
set the equations for energy -- this time kinetic energy -- and work equal to each other and solve for
force.
W=KE=Fd=\frac{1}{2}mv^2 \implies F = \frac{1/2 mv^2}{d}W=KE=Fd=
mv
⟹F=
1/2mv
The final step is to plug the values from the problem into the equation for force:
F = \frac{1/2 (2,200)(20)^2}{0.75}=586,667 \text{ N}F=
0.75
1/2(2,200)(20)
=586,667 N
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Mechanics
RELATED
Updated November 08, 2020
By Lee Johnson
Calculating the force in a wide range of situations is crucial to physics. Most of the time, Newton’s
second law (F = ma) is all you need, but this basic approach isn’t always the most direct way to tackle
every problem. When you’re calculating force for a falling object, there are a few extra factors to
consider, including how high the object is falling from and how quickly it comes to a stop. In practice, the
simplest method for determining the falling object force is to use the conservation of energy as your
starting point.
Background: The Conservation of Energy
The conservation of energy is a fundamental concept in physics. Energy isn’t created or destroyed, just
transformed from one form into another. When you use the energy from your body (and ultimately the
food you’ve eaten) to pick up a ball from the ground, you’re transferring that energy into gravitational
potential energy; when you release it, that same energy becomes kinetic (moving) energy. When the ball
strikes the ground, the energy is released as sound, and some may also cause the ball to bounce back
up. This concept is crucial when you need to calculate falling object energy and force.
The Energy at the Impact Point
The conservation of energy makes it easy to work out how much kinetic energy an object has just before
the point of impact. The energy has all come from the gravitational potential it has before falling, so the
formula for gravitational potential energy gives you all the information you need. It is:
E = mghE=mgh
In the equation, m is the mass of the object, E is the energy, g is the acceleration due to gravity constant
(9.81 m s−2 or 9.81 meters per second squared), and h is the height the object falls from. You can work
this out easily for any object that falls as long as you know how big it is and how high it falls from.
The Work-Energy Principle
The work-energy principle is the last piece of the puzzle when you’re working out the falling object
force. This principle states that:
\text{average impact force}\times \text{ distance traveled} = \text{ change in kinetic energy}average
impact force× distance traveled= change in kinetic energy
This problem needs the average impact force, so rearranging the equation gives:
\text{average impact force} = \frac{\text{change in kinetic energy}}{\text{distance traveled}}average

impact force=
distance traveled
change in kinetic energy

The distance traveled is the only remaining piece of information, and this is simply how far the object
travels before coming to a stop. If it penetrates into the ground, the average impact force is smaller.
Sometimes this is called the “deformation slow down distance,” and you can use this when the object
deforms and comes to a stop, even if it doesn’t penetrate into the ground.
Calling the distance traveled after impact d, and noting that the change in kinetic energy is the same as
the gravitational potential energy, the complete formula can be expressed as:
\text{average impact force}=\frac{mgh}{d}average impact force=
mgh
Completing the Calculation
The hardest part to work out when you calculate falling object forces is the distance traveled. You can
estimate this to come up with an answer, but there are some situations where you can put together a
firmer figure. If the object deforms when it makes impact – a piece of fruit that smashes as it hits the
ground, for example – the length of the portion of the object that deforms can be used as distance.
A falling car is another example because the front crumples from the impact. Assuming that it crumples
in 50 centimeters, which is 0.5 meters, the mass of the car is 2,000 kg, and it is dropped from a height of
10 meters, the following example shows how to complete the calculation. Remembering that the
average impact force = mgh ÷ d, you put the example figures in place:
\text{average impact force}=\frac{2000\text{ kg}\times 9.81\text{ m/s}^2\times 10\text{ m}}

{0.5\text{ m}}=392,400\text{ N} = 392.4\text{ kN}average impact force=
0.5 m
2000 kg×9.81 m/s
×10 m
=392,400 N=392.4 kN
Where N is the symbol for a Newtons (the unit of force) and kN means kilo-Newtons or thousands of
Newtons.
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Energy
How to Convert Nanometers to Joules
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How to Convert Nanometers to Joules
Updated October 31, 2020
By Timothy Banas
In science, the joule is the unit of energy or work. It is a compound unit defined as 1 newton of force
over a distance of 1 meter, or as the kinetic energy of a 1-kilogram mass moving at one meter per
second. Joules can also be converted from calories, as calories are another unit of energy. There are 4.19
joules in every calorie. You can calculate joules by calculating the kinetic energy, or energy of motion, of
an object. You can also calculate the joules by calculating the amount of work accomplished by a person
or machine. Lastly, you can calculate joules by converting directly from a measurement in calories.
Calculating Joules of Kinetic Energy
Write the equation for kinetic energy:
\text{kinetic energy} =\frac{1}{2}\times \text{mass}\times \text{velocity}^2kinetic energy=
×mass×velocity
where kinetic energy is in joules, mass is in kilograms, and velocity is in meters per second.
Consider the moving object for which you would like to calculate the kinetic energy in joules. For
example, suppose you want to calculate the energy of a 700 kilogram (kg) car moving at 20 meters per
second (m/s).
Plug the values into the kinetic energy equation to calculate the joules, as shown below:
\text{kinetic energy} =\frac{1}{2}\times 700\text{ kg}\times (20\text{ m/s})^2=140,000\text{ J}kinetic

energy=
×700 kg×(20 m/s)
=140,000 J
Calculating Joules of Work
Write the equation for work:
\text{work}=\text{force}\times\text{displacement}work=force×displacement
where work is in joules, force is in newtons, and displacement is in meters.
Consider the situation for which you would like to calculate the joules of work being done. For example,
suppose you want to calculate the work done by a man who uses 250 newtons (n) of force to push a box
8 meters (m) across the floor.
Plug the values into the work equation to calculate the Joules, like so:
\text{work}=250\text{ N}\times 8\text{ m}=2000\text{ J}work=250 N×8 m=2000 J
Converting Calories to Joules
Construct a conversion factor for converting calories to joules. You know that there are 4.19 joules in a
calorie, which can be written mathematically as 4.19 joules/calorie.
Consider the calorie value you want to convert to joules. For instance, suppose you want to know how
many joules of energy are in 300 calories.
Multiply the calorie value by the conversion factor, as the following line shows:
300\text{ calories}\times\frac{4.19\text{ J}}{\text{calorie}}=1257\text{ J}300 calories×
calorie
4.19 J
=1257 J
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Calculate Potential Energy
How to Find the Final Velocity of any Object
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How to Find the Final Velocity of any Object
Updated October 30, 2018
By Chris Deziel
Potential energy sounds like it's simply energy that hasn't become actualized, and thinking of it like that
can lull you into believing it isn't real. Stand under a safe suspended 30 feet above the ground, though,
and your opinion might change. The safe has potential energy due to the force of gravity, and if
someone were to cut the rope holding it, that energy would turn into kinetic energy, and by the time the
safe reached you, it would have enough "actualized" energy to give you a splitting headache.
A better potential energy definition is stored energy, and it takes "work" to store the energy. Physics has
a specific definition of work – work is done when a force moves an object over a distance. Work is
related to energy. It's measured in joules in the SI system., which are also potential and kinetic energy
units. To convert work into potential energy, you have to act against a particular type of force, and there
are several. The force could be gravitation, a spring or an electric field. The characteristics of the force
determine the amount of potential energy you store by doing work against it.
Potential Energy Formula for Earth's Gravitational Field
The way gravitation works is that two bodies attract each other, but everything on earth is so small
compared to the planet itself that only the earth's gravitational field is significant. If you lift a body (m)
above the ground, that body experiences a force that tends to make it accelerate toward the ground.
The magnitude of the force (F), from Newton's 2nd law, is given by F = mg, where g is the acceleration
due to gravity, which is a constant everywhere on Earth.
Suppose you lift the body to a height h. The amount of work you do to accomplish this is force ×
distance, or mgh. That work gets stored as potential energy, so the potential energy equation for earth's
gravitational field is simply:
Gravitational Potential Energy = mgh
Elastic Potential Energy
Springs, rubber bands and other elastic materials can store energy, which is essentially what you do
when you pull back a bow just before shooting an arrow. When you stretch or compress a spring, it
exerts an opposite force acting to restore the spring to its equilibrium position The magnitude of the
force is proportional to the distance you stretch or compress it (x). The proportionality constant (k) is
characteristic of the spring. According to Hooke's law, F = −kx. The minus sign indicates the restoring
force of the spring, which is acting in the opposite direction to the one stretching or compressing it.
To calculate the potential energy stored in an elastic material, you have to recognize that the force gets
bigger as x increases. For an infinitesimal distance, though, F is constant. By summing up the forces of all
the infinitesimal distances between 0 (equilibrium) and the final extension or compression x, you can
calculate the work done and the energy stored. This summing process is a mathematical technique
called integration. It produces the potential energy formula for an elastic material:
Potential energy = kx2/2
where x is the extension and k is the spring constant.
Electric Potential or Voltage
Consider moving a positive charge q within an electric field generated by a larger positive charge Q.
Because of electric repulsive forces, it takes work to move the smaller charge closer to the larger one.
According to Coulomb's law, the force between the charges at any point is kqQ/r2, where r is the
distance between them. In this case, k is Coulomb's constant, not the spring constant. Physicists denote
both of them by k. You calculate the potential energy by considering the work needed to move q from
infinitely far from Q to its distance r. This gives the electric potential energy equation:
Electric Potential Energy = kqQ/r
Electric potential is slightly different. It's the amount of energy stored per unit charge, and it's known as
voltage, measure in volts (joules/coulomb). The equation for the electric potential or voltage generated
by the charge Q at a distance r is:
Electric Potential = kQ/r

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me ⋅

How to Calculate Force of Impact

How to Calculate the Force of a Falling Object

How to Calculate the Force of a Falling Object

Updated December 06, 2020

TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read)

To calculate the force of impact, divide kinetic energy by distance.

Impact and Energy

Impact From a Falling Object

W=PE=Fd=mgh \implies F=\frac{mgh}{d}W=PE=Fd=mgh⟹F=

Impact From a Horizontally Moving Object

W=KE=Fd=\frac{1}{2}mv^2 \implies F = \frac{1/2 mv^2}{d}W=KE=Fd=

F = \frac{1/2 (2,200)(20)^2}{0.75}=586,667 \text{ N}F=

Did you find this page helpful?

How to Calculate the Force of a Falling Object

How to Calculate the Force of a Falling Object

How to Calculate Joules

How to Calculate Potential Energy

How to Calculate Velocity From Force & Distance

How to Calculate Velocity From Force & Distance

Examples of Wheel & Axle Simple Machines

Background Information on Egg Drop Experiments

How Do Cotton Balls Prevent an Egg From Breaking?

How Do Cotton Balls Prevent an Egg From Breaking?

How to Calculate Work Input in a Pulley

How to Build a Successful Egg Drop Container for Physics

How to Calculate Load Force

How to Calculate Load Force

Second Law of Motion Experiments

Seat Belts & Newton's Second Law of Motion

Seat Belts & Newton's Second Law of Motion

Spring Potential Energy: Definition, Equation, Units (w/ Examples)

Mechanical Energy Facts for Kids

Work-Energy Theorem: Definition, Equation (w/ Real Life Examples)

Work-Energy Theorem: Definition, Equation (w/ Real Life Examples)

How to Calculate Pendulum Force

The Difference Between Mechanical and Kinetic Energy

Five Facts on Kinetic Energy

How to Calculate E = MC2

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Find Your Next Great Science Fair Project! GO

How to Calculate the Force of a Falling Object

Background Information on Egg Drop Experiments

Background Information on Egg Drop Experiments

Updated November 08, 2020

The Energy at the Impact Point

The Work-Energy Principle

\text{average impact force} = \frac{\text{change in kinetic energy}}{\text{distance traveled}}average

change in kinetic energy

\text{average impact force}=\frac{mgh}{d}average impact force=

Completing the Calculation

\text{average impact force}=\frac{2000\text{ kg}\times 9.81\text{ m/s}^2\times 10\text{ m}}

2000 kg×9.81 m/s

How to Calculate Joules

How to Calculate Joules

How to Calculate Potential Energy

How to Calculate Velocity From Force & Distance