Momentum and impulse — AS & A Level Further Mathematics (9231) questions by topic

Oblique collisions with a barrier and sphere-on-sphere impacts define this topic: finding the angle a particle makes with a vertical barrier after an oblique collision, and finding velocities of two colliding spheres of unequal mass on a smooth horizontal surface.

Find and show are the only two top command words across 14 questions from 2023 to 2025 papers, worth from 4 to 9 marks, where resolving momentum along and perpendicular to a barrier or line of centres is the recurring technique. With no examiner-report extracts logged for this topic, submitting each collision derivation for instant marking is the main way to catch a wrongly resolved momentum component before it undermines the restitution equation that follows.

May–June 2025, Paper 31

Question 6 · 9 marks

Two uniform smooth spheres A and B of equal radii have masses 2m and m respectively. Sphere A is moving in a straight horizontal line with speed u, and sphere B is stationary.…

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May–June 2025, Paper 32

Question 6 · 9 marks

Two uniform smooth spheres A and B of equal radii have masses 2m and m respectively. Sphere A is moving in a straight horizontal line with speed u, and sphere B is stationary.…

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May–June 2025, Paper 33

Question 6 · 8 marks

Two identical uniform smooth spheres A and B, each with mass m, are moving on a horizontal surface with speeds 2u and u respectively when they collide. Immediately before the…

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May–June 2025, Paper 34

Question 6 · 9 marks

Two uniform smooth spheres A and B of equal radii have masses 5m and 4m respectively. Sphere A is moving with speed u on a horizontal surface when it collides with sphere B which…

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May–June 2024, Paper 31

Question 1 · 6 marks

Two smooth uniform spheres A and B of equal radii have masses m and 5m respectively. Sphere A is moving on a smooth horizontal surface with speed u when it collides with sphere B…

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May–June 2024, Paper 32

Question 1 · 6 marks

Two smooth uniform spheres A and B of equal radii have masses m and 5m respectively. Sphere A is moving on a smooth horizontal surface with speed u when it collides with sphere B,…

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May–June 2024, Paper 33

Question 1 · 4 marks

Two smooth uniform spheres A and B of equal radii have masses m and 2m respectively. The two spheres are moving on a smooth horizontal surface when they collide with speeds u and…

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October–November 2024, Paper 32

Question 3 · 7 marks

The diagram shows two identical smooth uniform spheres A and B of equal radii and each of mass m. The two spheres are moving on a smooth horizontal surface when they collide with…

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May–June 2023, Paper 31

Question 2 · 5 marks

A particle P of mass m is moving with speed u on a fixed smooth horizontal surface. It collides at an angle alpha with a fixed smooth vertical barrier. After the collision, P…

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May–June 2023, Paper 32

Question 2 · 5 marks

A particle P of mass m is moving with speed u on a fixed smooth horizontal surface. It collides at an angle alpha with a fixed smooth vertical barrier. After the collision, P…

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May–June 2023, Paper 33

Question 4 · 8 marks

Two identical smooth uniform spheres A and B each have mass m. The two spheres are moving on a smooth horizontal surface when they collide with speeds u and 2u respectively.…

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October–November 2023, Paper 31

Question 1 · 7 marks

Two uniform smooth spheres A and B of equal radii have masses m and 2m respectively. The two spheres are moving with equal speeds u on a smooth horizontal surface when they…

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October–November 2023, Paper 32

Question 4 · 7 marks

Two smooth vertical walls meet at right angles. The smooth sphere A, with mass m, is at rest on a smooth horizontal surface and is at a distance d from each wall. An identical…

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October–November 2023, Paper 33

Question 1 · 7 marks

Two uniform smooth spheres A and B of equal radii have masses m and 2m respectively. The two spheres are moving with equal speeds u on a smooth horizontal surface when they…

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