Suppose You Fin

Suppose you find yourself teetering on the edge of a cliff or the roof of a tall building with a heavy
physics book in your hand. As you are about to fall, you suddenly remember how physics can save you!
What law did you remember?
a) law of inertia
b) law of gravitation
c) law of conservation of momentum
d) law of conservation of energy
Reasoning: If you throw the books forward (!), then you will suffer a backward momentum because of
the law of conservation of momentum.
2) A heavy truck has more momentum than a passenger car moving at the same speed because the
truck
a) has greater mass
b) has greater speed
c) is not streamlined
d) has a large wheelbase
3) Momentum is conserved
a) in an elastic collision of two balls
b) in an inelastic collision of two balls
c) in the absence of an external force
d) in all of the preceding cases

4) A gun recoiling when it is fired is an example of
a) conservation of momentum
b) conservation of angular momentum
c) conservation of energy
d) none of the above
Reasoning: See page 93 of the text.
5) A heavy object and a light object have the same momentum. Which has the greater speed?
a) heavy object
b) light object
c) both have the same speed
d) the heavy object has a zero speed while the light object has a nonzero speed
Reasoning: Momentum = mass x velocity. Thus if two objects have the same momentum, the lighter
object will have a larger velocity.
6) A 1500 kg truck traveling at 80 km/h collides with another car of mass 1000 kg traveling at 30 km/h in
the same direction. The two cars stick together after the collision. Their speed immediately after the
collision is
a) 40 km/h
b) 60 km/h
c) 110 km/h
d) 55 km/h
Reasoning: Use the conservation of momentum law.Study the examples on page 96-97 of the text.
7) A baseball player grabs a 200 gram baseball which is moving at speed of 30 m/s. The ball comes to
rest in about 1/10 second. The force acting on the player’s hand is (Think of the relationship between
change of the momentum and force),
a) 60 N
b) 200 grams
c) 30 m/s
d) 2000 N
Reasoning: See page 88-89 of the text. Using F = change in momentum/contact time, we get: F = (.2 kg x
30 m/s)/(.1 s) = 60 N.
8) A change in momentum may result from
a) an acceleration
b) a force
c) an impulse
d) all of the above
9) A boxer quickly learns to move his head backward when he sees he is going to receive a jab to the
head. What does this head motion accomplish?
a) It increases the momentum and decreases the force
b) It increases the contact time which decreases the force

c) It decreases the contact time which decreases the force
d) It causes confusion on the opponent.
Reasoning: Using the relationship between force and momentum (discussed on question 7 and on page
89 of the text), as the time of contact increases the force will decrease.
10) Guardrails along roadsides collapse (bend and crumple) when a car runs into them. This is done
a) so they can replace them every year and provide jobs for unemployed workers
b) so the cars cannot rebound back to the middle of the road
c) to increase the contact time and decrease the crash force
d) to increase the momentum and decrease the crash force
11) A bazooka, or rocket launcher, is essentially a large tube, open at both ends, that a soldier holds on
the shoulder when firing a heavy shell. There is a very little recoil on the person firing the shell. Why?
a) Momentum is not conserved in this case, and as a result the tube does not recoil.
b) Momentum is shared between the gas and the shell; the tube does not recoil.
c) Since the tube is held on the shoulder, its mass is high and it does not recoil.
d) There is a significant recoil; it is absorbed by the large mass of the tube.
12) In order to reduce the "sting" in catching a hard ball one usually,
a) increases momentum change
b) increases the contact force
c) increases the impulse

d) increase the contact time
13) For the same force, which one imparts a greater momentum to a cannonball?
a) a long cannon
b) a short cannon
c) either (a) or (b) depending on the air resistance
d) neither (a) nor (b). The momentum is independent of the length of the cannon
Reasoning: the force is constant. To increase the momentum of the outgoing shell, the time of contact
must increase. Thus the long cannon produces a larger momentum.

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Suppose you find yourself teetering on the edge of a cliff or the roof of a tall building with a heavy

c) law of conservation of momentum

d) law of conservation of energy

a) has greater mass

b) has greater speed

d) has a large wheelbase

a) in an elastic collision of two balls

b) in an inelastic collision of two balls

c) in the absence of an external force

d) in all of the preceding cases

b) conservation of angular momentum

d) none of the above

Reasoning: See page 93 of the text.

c) both have the same speed

8) A change in momentum may result from

d) all of the above

a) It increases the momentum and decreases the force

b) It increases the contact time which decreases the force

d) It causes confusion on the opponent.

b) so the cars cannot rebound back to the middle of the road

c) to increase the contact time and decrease the crash force

d) to increase the momentum and decrease the crash force

d) There is a significant recoil; it is absorbed by the large mass of the tube.

a) increases momentum change

b) increases the contact force

c) increases the impulse

c) either (a) or (b) depending on the air resistance

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