What is the product of a body's mass and velocity known as?

What is the product of a body's mass and velocity known as?

• A. Acceleration
• B. Momentum
• C. Impulse
• D. Force

Answer: (B)

The product of a body's mass and its velocity is known as momentum. Momentum is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction. It is defined mathematically as the product of an object's mass (m) and its velocity (v), expressed as \( p = m \times v \). This relationship shows that as either the mass or the velocity of an object increases, its momentum also increases proportionally. Momentum plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of moving objects, particularly in collisions and conservation laws, where the total momentum before an event equals the total momentum after, provided no external forces act on the system. Other terms in the options refer to different concepts in physics. Acceleration refers to the rate of change of velocity over time, impulse relates to the change in momentum resulting from a force applied over a period of time, and force is defined as the product of mass and acceleration, according to Newton's second law. Thus, momentum specifically captures the effect of both mass and velocity, making it the correct answer in this context.

The product of a body's mass and its velocity is known as momentum. Momentum is a vector quantity, meaning it has both magnitude and direction. It is defined mathematically as the product of an object's mass (m) and its velocity (v), expressed as ( p = m \times v ). This relationship shows that as either the mass or the velocity of an object increases, its momentum also increases proportionally.

Momentum plays a crucial role in understanding the behavior of moving objects, particularly in collisions and conservation laws, where the total momentum before an event equals the total momentum after, provided no external forces act on the system.

Other terms in the options refer to different concepts in physics. Acceleration refers to the rate of change of velocity over time, impulse relates to the change in momentum resulting from a force applied over a period of time, and force is defined as the product of mass and acceleration, according to Newton's second law. Thus, momentum specifically captures the effect of both mass and velocity, making it the correct answer in this context.