Which physical quantity is obtained by the ratio of momentum and velocity of…

2018

Which physical quantity is obtained by the ratio of momentum and velocity of matter?

  1. A.

    Acceleration

  2. B.

    Mass

  3. C.

    Velocity

  4. D.

    Force

Attempted by 9 students.

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Correct answer: B

Momentum of a moving body is defined as the product of its mass and its velocity, expressed by the identity p = m x v, where m is the mass and v is the velocity. This identity holds for any moving object, independent of its particular mass or speed.

  1. Start from the momentum identity, p = m x v.

  2. Divide both sides by the velocity v: p / v = (m x v) / v = m, since the velocity terms cancel.

  3. So dividing the momentum of the matter by its velocity returns the quantity mass.

This also checks out dimensionally: momentum carries the unit kg.m/s while velocity carries the unit m/s. Dividing kg.m/s by m/s cancels the m/s term and leaves kg, the SI unit of mass -- confirming the same result independently.

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