Is the impulse a vector quantity?

1 Answer
May 1, 2014

Yes, impulse is a vector quantity.

#J = F_(avg)*Deltat#
#J = Deltap#
#J = p_(2) - p_(1)#

(#J# is impulse, #p# is momentum, and #t# is time)

In the first equation, the average force is a vector quantity, which means that impulse must also be a vector quantity because a scalar times a vector is always a vector.

The second and third equations describe impulse in terms of momentum. Momentum is a vector since it is the product of velocity and mass, therefore impulse must be a vector quantity because the difference of two vectors is still a vector.