Force, momentum & impulse
Edexcel GCSE Physics revision on Force, momentum & impulse. Aligned to the Pearson Edexcel GCSE Physics 1PH0 specification. This bank has 18 practice questions on this topic.
Sample questions (3 of 18)
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Question 1
Momentum is calculated as...
- A) mass + velocity
- B) mass x velocity
- C) force x time
- D) mass / velocity
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Answer: mass x velocity
Momentum (p) measures how 'unstoppable' something is - a function of how heavy AND how fast it's going. p = mv. Units: kg.m/s. A heavy slow-moving truck and a light fast bullet can have the same momentum. Momentum is VECTOR - direction matters.
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Question 2
Momentum of a 2 kg ball moving at 5 m/s?
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Answer: 10
p = mv = 2 x 5 = 10 kg.m/s. Direction is whichever way the ball is moving.
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Question 3
In a collision, the TOTAL momentum is...
- A) Lost as heat
- B) Conserved (sum before = sum after)
- C) Doubled
- D) Always zero
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Answer: Conserved (sum before = sum after)
When objects interact (collide, explode), the TOTAL momentum is conserved (assuming no external forces). Sum of momentum before = sum after. Used in: car safety design, ballistics, rocket propulsion (gas pushed back -> rocket pushed forward = equal + opposite momentum). Newton's 3rd law in another form.
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15 more questions on Force, momentum & impulse — plus mistakes tracking and spaced repetition across the whole Physics spec.