A Level Physics Practice Exam 2026 - Free A Level Physics Practice Questions and Study Guide

The momentum of a dropped golf ball just before it impacts the ground is indeed directed towards the Earth. This is because momentum is a vector quantity, which means it has both magnitude and direction. As the golf ball falls under the influence of gravity, it accelerates towards the Earth, increasing its velocity. Since momentum is the product of mass and velocity, the direction of the momentum will be the same as the direction of the ball's velocity, which is downward towards the Earth just before it hits the ground.

Momentum does not become zero at this point; rather, the quantity is quite significant as the ball is in motion. It also does not direct upwards, as that would contradict the motion resulting from the gravitational force acting downward. Furthermore, momentum cannot increase to infinity in this context; it approaches a finite value based on the ball's mass and velocity just before impact.