Question

Which of the following scenarios has a greater impulse?

A ball that falls and then bounces off of the floor

An egg that splats and breaks onto the floor

Catching a ball

You jump out of your second story bedroom window

Answer 1

Impulse = change in momentum, J = Δp = m(v_final − v_initial). So two things matter: the mass and how much the velocity changes (including direction).

Compare the four qualitatively (assume each object falls from the same height and is brought to rest unless stated otherwise):

- Ball that falls and bounces: if it rebounds upward with roughly the same speed it hit the floor, Δp ≈ 2m v (downward to upward), so the impulse magnitude is about twice what it would be if it were simply stopped.
- Egg that splats: it essentially goes from downward speed to nearly zero, so Δp ≈ m v.
- Catching a ball: if you catch and stop it, Δp ≈ m v (same as the splatting egg for equal mass and speed).
- You jumping out a second‑story window: your mass is much larger than a ball or an egg, so for the same fall speed Δp = M v is much larger (M ≫ m), and thus the impulse is far larger.

So, unless you mean an unusually heavy bouncing object, the greatest impulse is from you jumping out of the window (because of your much larger mass). Also note that a bouncing object can produce a larger impulse than a stop (factor ≈2) because the momentum reverses direction.