Although it cannot sustain its top speed for more than 8.65 s, the cheetah can run a distance of 274 m during that time. If a cheetah with a mass of 50.0 kg is moving at top speed, what is its momentum?

1 Answer
Jan 8, 2018

The cheetah has a momentum of #1583.815 kg m s^-1#

Explanation:

From BBC Bitesize

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/add_aqa/kinetic_energy/momentumrev1.shtml

p is the momentum in kilograms metres per second, kg m/s
m is the mass in kilograms, kg
v is the velocity in m/s

p = m*v

v = 274m in 8.65s or #(274/8.65)ms^-1# or #31.6763ms^-1#

Substitute in what we know

#p = 50*31.6763 = 1583.815 kg m s^-1#