Question

You throw a basketball and a tennis ball across the classroom so that each ball has the exact same momentum. Explain how this is possible given that a basketball has more mass than a tennis ball.

Answer 1

Answer:

It is possible by increasing the speed of the tennis ball by a factor of (Mass of the tennis ball)/(Mass of the basketball)

Explanation:

The momentum of a body = The bod's mass × The body's velocity

Therefore, the momentum of a given mass of an object, such as a tennis ball can be increased by increasing the velocity or speed of the object. Whereby the speed of the ball, v₁, is increased such that the momentum of the basketball and the tennis ball will be the same, is given by the following equation

Mass of the basketball × v₂ = Mass of the tennis ball × v₁

Therefore, v₁/v₂ = (Mass of the tennis ball)/(Mass of the basketball)