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NSC / Matric Momentum and Impulse — practice questions

Explore 7 free Momentum and Impulse questions in NSC / Matric Physics. Open each question or exercise to read its content, reference answers and available explanation.

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Momentum and Impulse questions and exercises with answers

Showing questions 1–7 of 7.

Mass in motion is another way of describing which physical quantity?Read the answer and worked solution →Why does the momentum of a moving object always point in the same direction as its velocity?Read the answer and worked solution →Newton's second law can be stated using momentum. The resultant force on an object is equal to what?Read the answer and worked solution →Under what condition does the total momentum of a system of interacting objects stay constant?Read the answer and worked solution →Which statement correctly compares an elastic collision with an inelastic collision?Read the answer and worked solution →Why do car makers design the front of a car to crumple rather than to bounce back in a head-on crash?Read the answer and worked solution →Pick the bigger momentumRead the answer and worked solution →

Worked practice questions

Mass in motion is another way of describing which physical quantity?

  1. Impulse
  2. Velocity
  3. Inertia
  4. Momentum
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Correct answer: D. Momentum

1. Momentum belongs only to objects that are moving and that have mass. 2. It is calculated by multiplying the mass of the object by its velocity. 3. That is exactly what the phrase mass in motion is describing. 4. Velocity on its own says nothing about mass, so it cannot be the answer. _Source: Siyavula Physical Sciences Grade 12 (Everything Science, CC BY 4.0), Chapter 2: Momentum and impulse_

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Why does the momentum of a moving object always point in the same direction as its velocity?

  1. Mass is a scalar, not a vector
  2. Mass always acts downwards
  3. Velocity is a scalar quantity
  4. Momentum has no direction
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Correct answer: A. Mass is a scalar, not a vector

1. Momentum is the product of the mass of an object and its velocity. 2. Mass is a scalar, so it carries a size but no direction of its own. 3. Multiplying a vector by a positive scalar changes only its size, never the way it points. 4. So the momentum vector keeps the direction of the velocity vector exactly. 5. Momentum certainly does have a direction, which rules out the last option. _Source: Siyavula Physical Sciences Grade 12 (Everything Science, CC BY 4.0), Chapter 2: Momentum and impulse_

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Newton's second law can be stated using momentum. The resultant force on an object is equal to what?

  1. The total momentum of the body
  2. The rate of change of momentum
  3. The product of mass and speed
  4. The area under a speed graph
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Correct answer: B. The rate of change of momentum

1. A force changes the motion of an object, so it changes the momentum of that object. 2. Stated in its most general form, the resultant force equals the rate of change of momentum. 3. Rate of change means how much the momentum changes in each second. 4. The total momentum itself is not the force, it is the quantity the force is changing. _Source: Siyavula Physical Sciences Grade 12 (Everything Science, CC BY 4.0), Chapter 2: Momentum and impulse_

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