Momentum

Imagine a loaded shopping cart and a small glass marble are both slowly rolling toward you at the same speed. The marble is easier to stop. Intuitively, you know that a loaded shopping cart is harder to stop because it has a greater mass. If the marble were moving 100 times faster than the shopping cart, which would be easier to stop? Momentum is the product of an object's mass and its velocity. An object with large momentum is hard to stop. An object has a large momentum if the product of its mass and velocity is large. The momentum for any object at rest is zero. A huge rocket such as the space shuttle has zero momentum as it sits on the launch pad. A small 1-kilogram meteor traveling at the very high speed of 20 kilometers per second has a very large momentum.

Table of Contents

Physical Science CHAPTER 1 Science Skills CHAPTER 2 Properties of Matter CHAPTER 3 States of Matter CHAPTER 4 Atomic Structure CHAPTER 5 The Periodic Table CHAPTER 6 Chemical Bonds CHAPTER 7 Chemical Reactions CHAPTER 8 Solutions, Acids, and Bases CHAPTER 9 Carbon Chemistry CHAPTER 10 Nuclear Chemistry CHAPTER 11 Motion CHAPTER 12 Forces and Motion CHAPTER 13 Forces in Fluids CHAPTER 14 Work, Power, and Machines CHAPTER 15 Energy CHAPTER 16 Thermal Energy and Heat CHAPTER 17 Mechanical Waves and Sound CHAPTER 18 The Electromagnetic Spectrum and Light CHAPTER 19 Optics CHAPTER 20 Electricity CHAPTER 21 Magnetism CHAPTER 22 Earth's Interior CHAPTER 23 Earth's Surface CHAPTER 24 Weather and Climate CHAPTER 25 The Solar System CHAPTER 26 Exploring the Universe Skills and Reference Handbook