Before we embark on discussing how to calculate momentum, let us define it. Momentum can be defined as the quantity of motion of a moving body or simply the product of mass and velocity of an object. Its SI unit is kilograms meters per second (Kg.m/s).
Formula to Calculate Momentum.
Mass can be defined as the amount of matter present in a body and its SI unit is kilogram (Kg).
Simply, we can define velocity as the speed of an object in a particular direction. SI unit of velocity is meters per second (m/s).
Example 1:
A physics student throws a stone with a mass of 0.1Kg against a brick wall with a velocity of 20m/s. Calculate the momentum of the stone.
Therefore, the momentum of the stone is 2 Kg.m/s.
Example 2:
Calculate the momentum of a 163 grams baseball moving in the positive direction with a speed of 42m/s.
We begin by converting the mass from grams to kilograms. We do this by divide the grams by 1000.
= 163 รท 1000
= 0.163 Kg.
Momentum = Mass x Velocity
= 0.163 x 42
Hence, the momentum of the ball is 6.846 Kg.m/s.
Example 3:
Find the momentum of a person jogging at the speed of 3m/s and weighs 70 Kg.
Momentum = Mass x Velocity
= 70 x 3
Therefore, the momentum of the person is 210 Kg.m/s.
