Science 9

Quarter 4
Self-Learning Module 9

Momentum and Impulse

In

Action
 EXPECTATIONS
This module is created with activities that will help you understand and
appreciate the different applications of Momentum and Impulse to real-life
situations. In this module, your knowledge, skills, and values will be developed.

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. explain the relationship between momentum and impulse;
2. illustrate how impact force is reduced in some situations like in collisions; and
3. apply the concept of momentum and impulse to real-life situations.

PRETEST
Directions: Read each question carefully and choose the letter of the best answer.
Write the letter of your answer on a separate sheet of paper.

1. Which of the following statements correctly explain the relationship between

momentum and impulse?
A. Impulse could not change the object’s momentum.
B. Impulse is inversely proportional to the change of momentum.
C. Slow-moving baseball causes more injury than fast-moving baseball.
D. It requires greater force to stop a moving body with higher momentum.

2. A boxer quickly leans his head backward when he sees he is going to receive a
jab to the head. What does this head motion indicate?
A. Confusion on the opponent
B. Increased momentum and lower impact force
C. Increased contact time and decreased force of impact
D. Decreased contact time and decreased force of impact

3. The following pictures show the principle of increasing time of contact to

decrease the force of impact EXCEPT

a. c.

b. d.
4. There is a difference between running a car hitting the haystack and hitting a
brick wall. Which of the following statements correctly interpret the given picture?

A. A change in momentum both in longer and shorter time results in a larger

force of impact.
B. A change in momentum both in longer and shorter time results in a
smaller force of impact.
C. A change in momentum that occurs over a short time results in a small
force of impact and a change in momentum that occurs over a long time results in
a larger impact force.
D. A change in momentum that occurs over a long time results in a small
force of impact and a change of momentum that occurs over short time results in a
larger force of impact.

5. “Momentum demands movement”. What does this quote tell you?

A. You need to stop to sustain your momentum.
B. You need the push of others to gain momentum.
C. You need to set your goal and let others work for you.
D. Keep moving ahead because action creates momentum.

RECAP
From your Grade 8-Science, you have learned Inertia which pertains to the ability
of the body to resist an outside force. The more mass an object has, the greater its
inertia. Therefore, a heavier body is more difficult to stop than the lighter one.
From the previous module, you have learned that the momentum of a body
depends on its mass and velocity. This means that momentum is the inertia in
motion. Objects at rest have inertia but without momentum. An object’s
momentum depends on its mass and velocity.
 CAR A Direction: Two cars of different masses are
moving at the same velocities. Complete each of
1,000 kg
the following statements by identifying the
10 m/s correct car being described.

300 kg CAR B

10 m/s

A because it has higher inertia.

1. Greater force is needed to stop car

2. Bodies with higher momentum like car A is more difficult to stop.

3. Car A has higher momentum than car B because it has a higher mass.

4. Car A and B will only have the same momentum when Car B increases its
velocity.
5. Car A has a momentum of 3,000 kgm/s.

LESSON
Momentum can simply be defined as the mass in motion. This tells us that object
at rest has no momentum. You will notice two quantities involved in this
statement- the mass and the velocity. These quantities are directly proportional to
the magnitude of momentum. Increasing either the mass or velocity of the object
results in increasing the momentum.

Driving your car with higher mass at a higher velocity gives your car a
higher momentum. The more momentum an object has, the more difficult it is to
bring to a stop. Therefore, when someone suddenly crosses the road while you are
driving at a higher velocity, it would require you to apply greater force on the brake
or it takes you a longer amount of time or both to slow it down and bring it to a
stop.

m𝑽𝟏 m𝑽𝟐
F t
Stepping the brake so hard
(greater force) in a longer amount
of time is required… to bring the car with higher to a stop or to change its
momentum… momentum tozero.
In this case, force and time are important to look at. The brake serves to
apply a force to the car for a given amount of time to change the car’s momentum.
This amount of force applied multiplied by the duration of time it was applied is
called Impulse. And the greater the impulse, the greater the change in momentum.
To change the impulse, you can either increase or decrease the force applied and
the time of contact.

Ft = m∆V

IMPULSE (J) CHANGE IN MOMENTUM

J= m∆V
Rearranging the equation above will help us understand how impact force is
affected by the change in momentum and the time of contact.

This shows that force of impact is directly proportional to the

momentum of the body and inversely proportional to the time of

contact.
The above equation shows that the impact force of a fast-moving car is higher and
therefore it can cause greater damage after the collision than the car moving at a
lower velocity. On the other hand, the equation tells us that the impact force could
be decreased by extending the time of contact.
Now, think about riding in an out-of-control car. Would you prefer hitting a
haystack or a brick wall? Your knowledge of physics will help you save your life.
Let us figure it out:

If the change in momentum occurs If the change in momentum occurs

over a long time, the force of impact over a short time, the force of impact
is small. is large.
In both cases, the momentum has been decreased by same amount of impulse.

F∆ t = F∆t
The product of smaller force with longer time = The product of bigger force and shorter time

Since our goal is to make the force of impact lower to save our life, we need to
extend the time. By hitting a haystack instead of the brick wall, you are extending
the contact time (during the time the momentum is brought to zero). This results
in lower force of impact. The law of physics tells us that if you are driving at a high
velocity and a crash causes the car to stop immediately, the driver and the
passengers will be thrown forward (Law of inertia!) at the same velocity causing
major fatalities and death. This made the engineers designed car’s crumple zones.
These areas are built to bend or collapse because crumpling allows the vehicle to
take a little longer before coming to stop. Thus, impact forced is lowered and
increasing the chance of survival.
This is also the reason why the boxer often relaxes
his neck and moves his head backward upon recognizing
that he will be hit in the head by the opponent. Moving
backward means extending the time of impact of the glove
with his head thus, decreasing the impact force during
collision. The same principle is applied in using
parachute when jumping off a plane for example. The air
pushes the parachute upward making the time of contact
of the person and the ground longer. Extending the time of contact
means decreasing the impact force.

ACTIVITIES
To deepen your understanding of the lessons and to discover new concepts,
perform the following activities.
Activity No.1: KEEPING ME SAFE
Learning Competency: Apply the concept of momentum and impulse to real-life
situations. S9FE-IVb-36.4
Learning Objective: To explain the relationship between impulse and momentum.

Direction: Fill in the blanks with the correct word to complete the paragraph
describing each of the given picture.
 1. I am a gymnast. I need to bend my knees when
landing from a certain height to increase the time of
contact with the floor thus reducing the force of
impact.
(reducing, increase, bend)
2. Cars are designed with airbags because it can
lessen or prevent injuries in the event of crash or
collision. The inflation of the airbag is initiated by
crash sensors. This decreases the impact force by
increasing the time of contact.
(airbags, decreases, increasing
3. Car manufacturers design crumple zones into cars
so that car will likely be crumpled rather than rebounded
in a collision. When the car crumples, the change in the
car’s momentum happens over a long time. This
decreases the force of impact on
the passengers and thereby increasing chances of
survival.
(long, decreases, crumple zones)
4. Baseball players need to use padded gloves. Its
padding is slightly compressible thus reducing the impact
force on the player’s hand by increasing the time of
contact.
(reducing, increasing, padded gloves)
5.When catching a baseball, the catcher pulls his hand backwards with the
moving ball. This decreases the impact of catching the fast-moving ball to your
hand because by doing so, time of contact was been increased.
(backwards, increased, decreases)

Guide Questions:
1. What do you need to do with the contact time during a collision so that the force
of impact will be reduced?
You need to increased the time of contact so that the force of
impact will be reduced.
2. How could seatbelt apply the same principle of saving the passenger’s life
during crash?
Because the seatbelt help to retain people in their seats during a
crash, being strapped tightly to the car decreases the impact
force by increasing the time of contact.
Activity No.2: CUSHION IT!
Learning Competency: Apply the concept of momentum and impulse to real-life
situations. S9FE-IVb-36.4
 Learning Objective: Illustrate how impact force is reduced during collisions.

Direction: Draw the material that reduces the force of impact in each of the
following situations.

1. There is a mechanical failure in the plane. I need to jump off the

plane before it crashes. What do I need to land
safely??

2. I got a head-on collision with an electrical post. I was not thrown

forward towards the windshield. What keeps me
from my seat?
3. My car is out of control. There are just two
options to collide with, mango tree or a banana stalk. What will I
choose?

4. My car gets a head-on collision, and our cars are both crumpled
instead of rebounding. Both of us are not seriously harmed
because crumpling increases the time of changing our momentum
thus reducing the impact force. What did car manufacturers
design into our cars that reduces injury?
5. My car accidentally hit the motorcycle that was trying to overtake
me. The driver was knocked over along with his motorcycle. What
did he use to avoid serious head injury?

CLOSURE:
Fragile goods such as glass, ceramics, and electronic products that are
transported must be cushioned inside the shipping packaging. Why is this so?
So that when it accidentally hit or drop, the impact is
reduced and increasing the time of contact, because
extending the time of contact means decreasing the impact.
This cushioning it inside the shipping package may prevent
breaking the fragile goods inside it.

WRAP -UP
Directions: Write true if the statement is correct and change the underline word/s
if the statement is false.
1. If heavy and light objects have the same momentum, the velocity of the lighter
object is higher. True
 2. The car with higher momentum requires a great stopping force.

3. During the collision, the seatbelt increases the time of contact of the passenger
to the steering wheel, thus reducing impact force. True
4. If the change in momentum occurs over a long time, the force of impact is
small.
. 5. In catching a fast-moving ball with the bare hand, move your hand backward with
the ball so that collision time will be increased and force of impact will be decreased.

VALUING
To deeply appreciate the importance of the lesson, answer this activity and
make a self-reflection.

Activity No.3: MY LIFE JOURNEY

Learning Competency: Apply the concept of momentum and impulse to real-life
situations. S9FE-IVb-36.4

Learning Objective: To reflect on the real-life applications of momentum

and impulse.
Directions: Identify the following materials/parts that play an important role
in reducing collision injury. Then use them to fill in the blanks in the “ My
life Journey”.

(1)

1.) Airbag 2.) Seatbelt 3.) Brake 4.)

Crumple zones
SELF-REFLECTION:
My Life Journey.
Life is a journey filled with joys, hardships, and lessons that will ultimately

bring us to our destination. Along our journey, we are confronted with rough roads

and accidents that slow us down or sometimes stop us from going. But do not
forget that in all these accidents that you experienced, there are people that serve

like airbag to protect you from serious harm, there are those ready to be

crushed like the crumple zones of cars so you won’t be hurt so much, and

there are those who hug you like the seatbelt when you are about to crash. The

moment you feel like giving up, ask GOD for full control of your life like the brake
of the car. He can give you rest when you get tired in your life.

POSTTEST
Directions: Read each statement carefully then write the letter of your answer on a
separate sheet of paper.

1. A car traveling along the highway needs a certain amount of force to be brought
to rest. A large force is required when a car has ______.
A. lower mass
B. lower momentum
C. higher momentum
D. longer stopping distance

2. Which of the following correctly describes the situation below?

A. The change in momentum occurs over a long time resulting in a larger

force of impact.
B. The change in momentum occurs over a short time resulting in a larger
force of impact.
C. The change in momentum occurs over a long time resulting in a smaller
force of impact.
D. The change in momentum occurs over a short time resulting in a smaller
force of impact.

3. The amount of wreckage of cars during collision depends on the car’s

momentum and on how long the change in momentum occurs. Which of the
following barriers could give the least force of impact to the car?
 1 2 3 4

haystack Brick wall Tree trunk Electrical post

A. 1 B. 2 C. 3 D. 4

4. Why do you think mountain climbers use nylon rope? A. To

increase both the stopping force and time.
B. To decrease both the stopping force and time.
C. To increase the stopping time and decrease the stopping force.
D. To decrease the stopping time and increase the stopping force.

5. Seatbelts reduce the risk of death and serious injury. Which of the following
emotions/behavior could you associate with seatbelt?
A. Stress B. Depression C. Love D. Arrogance