Question

Explain how the following situations are affected by impulse and momentum.

1. In a vehicular accident, your momentum changes abruptly and your body experiences a large amount of force. How do airbags save you from experiencing a large enough force to cause serious damage? Explain using the impulse-momentum theorem.

2. In order to catch a ball, a baseball player naturally moves his or her hand

backward in the direction of the ball's motion once the ball contacts the hand. Why do they do this? Explain using the impulse-momentum theorem.

Answer 1

1. The airbag increases the time it takes to decelerate (or change the momentum), so, it provides a smaller force.
2. This move increases the time it takes to decelerate (or change the momentum), so, it provides a smaller force:

$$F=I/t.$$