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Concept of momentum

Momentum : The quantity of motion possessed by a moving body is called momentum.It is measured by the product of mass and velocity of the body.It is a matter of common experience that a car moving slowly can be stopped more easily than when it is moving fast.Similarly,a cricket ball hit moving gently can be caught easily but it is difficult to catch it if is moving fast.These examples show that greater the velocity of a body,the greater is the force required to stop it.

Again a cricket ball and a tennis ball may be moving with the same velocity but a greater force is required to stop the cricket ball than that required to stop the tennis ball.This shows that greater the mass of the body,greater is the force required to stop it.

From the above,we conclude that the force required to stop a moving body or conversely to move a body with a given velocity depends upon two factors (i) velocity and  (ii) mass of the body.This product of the mass and the velocity of a moving body is known as its momentum.

Therefore:          Momentum = mass ×velocity
or                           M = m ×𝓋

Dimensional formula of momentum is [M1L1T-1] and its C.G.S., unit is g cm S-1 and S.I. unit is kg ms-1.



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