Conceptual Momentum and Impulse

1. Why do we need to bend our knees when landing from jumping a certain height? Explain
in terms of momentum and impulse.
When we jump from a great height and our feet land on the ground, it has come to a rest.
A large value of force is exerted on our feet once our feet land. The moment our body becomes
at rest after we land, there is a fixed change in momentum, and if our body stops quickly during
the time interval, the time of impact will be less, and the force exerted will be very large, which
causes injury to our body. But if we bend our knees slowly as we land on our feet, less force acts
on our feet, and the time of impact increases. The impulse-momentum principle states that the
change in momentum of an object is equivalent to the impulse of a force exerted on the object
during the time interval.

2. What role do air bags play in reducing the chances of injury in car accidents? Explain in
terms of momentum and impulse.
According to the momentum of an object, the greater mass and speed of a moving object
will result in greater momentum, which means if the car is moving fast and given that it is heavy,
great momentum will be caused to the passengers. And as for the impulse, it is the impact or the
force exerted during an interval of time, which also means that it is a change in momentum.
When we connect momentum and impulse, it simply means that impulse of a moving object
during a time interval depends on its mass and speed.

In car accidents, the purpose of the airbags is to stop the momentum of the driver and
passenger by extending the time duration of the force that will be exerted on them. When a car
crashes, the passengers tend to move according to the motion of the car, which results in carrying
both driver and passenger towards the windshield. A large force will be exerted in a short
amount of time, which means more impulse to stop the momentum. But through the use of
airbags, it provides time to increase the impulse However, instead of crashing into the
windshield, both of them will hit the airbags that increase the time duration of impact. Hence,
when there is an increase in time of impact, it will result in a decrease in force that reduces the
chances of injury in car accidents.