Question

Which has more momentum, an object with a mass of `6kg` moving at `2m/s` or an object with a mass of `12kg` moving at `3m/s`?

Answer 1

Second object

Explanation:

Momentum of an object is given by the equation:

`p=mv`

• `p` is the momentum of the object

• `m` is the mass of the object

• `v` is the velocity of the object

Here, `p_1=m_1v_1,p_2=m_2v_2`.

The first object's momentum is:

`p_1=6 \ "kg"*2 \ "m/s"`

`=12 \ "kg m/s"`

The second object's momentum is:

`p_2=12 \ "kg"*3 \ "m/s"`

`=36 \ "kg m/s"`

Since `36>12`, then `p_2>p_1`, and so the second object has a higher momentum than the first object.