Momentum & collisions worksheet with answers

A 1300 kg car moving at 5 m/s runs into a stationary 500 kg car. The cars lock together. Find their common velocity v′ just after the collision (positive in the first car’s direction).

A 0.3 kg ball at rest is kicked. The foot pushes it with an average force of 250 N for 20 ms. Find the speed v of the ball just after the kick.

A 1 kg glider moving at 10 m/s makes a perfectly elastic head-on collision with a 0.5 kg glider at rest on a frictionless track. Find the velocity v′₁ of the first glider after the collision (positive in its original direction).

A 20 kg projectile moving horizontally at 19 m/s explodes into two fragments that move along the same line. The 7 kg fragment continues forwards at 79 m/s. Find the velocity v′₂ of the 13 kg fragment (positive in the original direction).

A 15 g bullet is fired horizontally into a 1 kg block hanging from light strings 1.6 m long, and stays in it. The strings swing out to a largest angle of 10° from the vertical. Use g = 9.81 m/s². Find the speed v of the bullet before impact.

A 0.1 kg ball hits a wall at 22 m/s and bounces straight back at 20 m/s. The contact lasts 40 ms. Find the average force F_avg of the wall on the ball.