Momentum Calculator

Enter the mass and a velocity of an object to calculate the linear momentum of that object in one dimension.

Momentum is the product of mass and velocity.

Momentum(p) = mass (m) * velocity (v)

Velocity is a vector quantity, meaning it has direction. As a result, the momentum of an object is also a vector quantity because it’s the product of velocity and mass.

Momentum is measure in kilogram meters per second (kg*m/s) in SI units. The rate of change of momentum in a closed system is equal to the net force acting on that object. That means the force is equal to the derivative of momentum with respect to time.

In a closed system, the total momentum is constant. For example, lets imagine a close system of two point objects. If object one increase it’s momentum by 5 kg*m/s, then object two must have had it’s momentum decreased by the same amount in the opposite direction.

Because momentum is a measurable quantity, the reference frame of that measurement effects the outcome. For example, if someone is moving in a car, with respect to that care they have no velocity and no momentum, but your you move the reference frame to someone observing from the street, that person has a velocity and therefor a momentum.

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