Activities

Bell Ringer: Impulse and Momentum

Published on 08/18/2010

Students explore the relationships between momentum, force, and impulse for the linear collision of a ball with an unmovable wall.

Students investigate the impulse-momentum theorem using a simulation of a perfectly elastic collision.
Students examine an animation showing the collision of a ball with an unmovable wall. The animation shows the magnitude, direction, and duration of the force exerted on the ball by the wall.
Students can vary the momentum of the ball and the magnitude of the force exerted by the wall.