Impulse and Momentum Calculator

Your details

Pick which quantity you want to calculate; the other fields become your known inputs.
Average force applied over the contact time.
Duration over which the force acts on the object.
Mass of the object.
Velocity of the object before the force is applied. Negative = opposite direction.
Velocity of the object after the force stops. Negative = opposite direction.
Impulse (J)
5N·s

Change in momentum of the object

Initial momentum (p1)0kg·m/s
Final momentum (p2)5kg·m/s
Avg. force (F)50N
Contact time (t)0.1s
Mass (m)0.5kg
Velocity change (dv)10m/s
Initial velocity (v1)0m/s
Final velocity (v2)10m/s
Initial momentum (kg·m/s)0
Final momentum (kg·m/s)5
Impulse (N·s)5

Impulse is 5.000 N·s (positive (same direction as motion)).

  • The object's momentum changed from 0.000 kg·m/s to 5.000 kg·m/s, a shift of 5.000 N·s.
  • Velocity changed by 10.00 m/s (10.00 m/s). The impulse is positive (same direction as motion).
  • An average force of 50.00 N applied for 0.1000 s produces this impulse. Doubling the contact time halves the required force.
  • For context: the same impulse could come from 100.0 N over 50 ms, or 5.000 N over 1 second.

Next stepTo explore collisions between two objects, pair this with the conservation of momentum principle: the total momentum before equals the total momentum after in a closed system.

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