Answer to Question #139977 in Physics for Wisdom

Question

During an impact time lasting approximately 5.0*10^-4 s a golf club exerts an average force of about 500N on the golf ball. What linear impulse is delivered to the ball as a result?

Answer 1

We can find the linear impulse delivered to the ball from the impulse-momentum change equation:

$$F_{avg}\Delta t=m\Delta v,$$ $$F_{avg}\Delta t=mv_f-mv_i,$$ $$F_{avg}\Delta t=mv_f=p,$$

here, $m$ is the mass of the golf ball, $v_i=0$ is the initial velocity of the golf ball, $v_f$ is the final velocity of the golf ball, $F_{avg}=500\ N$ is the average force that the golf club exerts on the golf ball, $\Delta t=5.0\cdot10^{-4}\ s$ is the impact time during which the golf club interacts with the golf ball, $p$ is the linear impulse delivered to the ball.

Then, from this equation we can find the linear impulse delivered to the ball:

$$p=F_{avg}\Delta t=500\ N\cdot 5.0\cdot10^{-4}\ s=0.25\ \dfrac{kgm}{s}.$$

Answer:

$p=0.25\ \dfrac{kgm}{s}.$