Impulse and Momentum
This topic is broken into units to help in formulating cohesive, effective lessons. Clicking on each unit title below will display appropriate activities, lesson plans, or labs.
Unit materials are a subset of all possible materials available for this topic, selected especially with the new physics teacher in mind. You may instead browse all materials for this topic here .
Algebra-Based Physics Impulse and Momentum Units
This topic presents the physics of impulse and momentum along with lesson plans, activities, reference and content materials. Units are not listed in a prescribed order.
Lesson Plans:
This PTRA manual presents the physics of impulse and momentum and learning materials. The manual also includes a section on modern physics applications and a set of assessment materials.
(Open Website )
Activities:
In this high school physics tutorial, the impulse-momentum change theorem and the law of conservation of momentum are explored.
(Open Website )
This applet features two wagons which can undergo a collision that is either totally elastic or totally inelastic. The simulation is complex enough to allow users to set mass and initial velocity, but simple enough to promote student understanding of physical interactions in colliding systems.
(Open Website )
Content Support For Teachers:
This educator's guide features easily understood content support in the fundamentals of momentum. It includes student activities and assessments.
(Open Website )
In this 2001 paper presented at the Physics Education Research Conference, authors describe the effects of two teaching approaches in a classroom lab on momentum: microcomputer-based labs (MBR) and video-based labs (VBR). Results indicate that students made good use of the information in the lab, and that they spent more time talking about concepts involving conservation of momentum and energy.
(Open Website )
Assessment:
This high-school-level assessment gauges student understanding of using diagrams to predict outcomes in colliding systems. It is intended for use within a unit on the conservation of linear momentum. The student assessment is printable, and an answer key is included.
(Open Website )
Activities:
This entertaining mini-lesson developed by Exploratorium engages the learner in physical activity to explore the effects of a twisting force (torque) on rotational motion. By mimicking the motion of a skateboarder, students gain intuitive understanding of the law of conservation of angular momentum.
(Open Website )
This inquiry-based activity challenges students to apply their understanding of momentum and collision to determine who is at fault in an automobile accident. (Open Website )
This java applet simulates two particles moving and colliding in one dimension. The collision is elastic and is shown as being caused by a virtual spring. Graphs of momentum and kinetic energy are viewed as the user manipulates starting velocities and spring constant of the virtual spring. One great feature is that the teacher can download a "snapshot" to email for use when computer lab is unavailable.
(Open Website )
Content Support For Teachers:
This PTRA manual presents the physics of impulse and momentum and learning materials to help students with this topic. Samples from the full print manual are available here. In this book, a section on theory and applications is followed by laboratory, classroom, and computer activities. The manual also includes a section on modern physics applications of the topic. Assessment questions are also provided for use by instructors.
(Open Website )
Activities:
Two-Day Problem-Solving Activity Grades 11-12 (Open Website )
