Dynamics

Impulse

A force integrated over the time it acts, equal to the change in momentum it produces.

Linear impulse is ∫F dt; for a constant force it is simply force times duration. The impulse-momentum principle says it equals the change in the body’s momentum, m·v₂ − m·v₁, applied separately in each direction because both are vectors.

Impulse-momentum is the natural method when time is given or asked for, and in impacts where large forces act briefly. If no external impulse acts on a system, its total momentum is conserved, which is how the velocity after a collision is found.

How much of the FE Civil exam is Dynamics?