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Learn How to Solve Linear Momentum Vector Practice Problems in 10 Minutes

car crash linear momentum example ap physics 1
Credit: Public Domain

By Andrew Bennett

Linear Momentum Vector Definition and Equation

Linear momentum is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction. Before AP Physics 1, we often ignore the direction part. Momentum is the product of an object's mass and velocity.

You can write this equation as p=mv, where p is momentum, m is mass, and v is velocity.

The direction of the momentum vector will be the same as the direction of the velocity vector. This gets tricky when we have multiple momentum vectors to consider. For example, some more advanced problems consider the momenta of multiple objects at two different moments in time, and you must add those momentum vectors together.

Video: How to Solve Basic Linear Momentum Practice Problems

This video stresses the importance of thinking of momentum as a vector. It also walks you through an example problem in which we find the total momentum of a system, which requires some vector addition by drawing vector diagrams. 



More Advanced Linear Momentum Example Problems

You can then apply these skills to conservation of momentum and impulse-momentum theorem problems. You can find these types of practice problems in this playlist. 

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