How can a heavy moving van have the same momentum as a small motorcycle?

Hello there!

The formula for momentum is .
p is momentum, m is mass, and v is velocity.

The mass of a heavy moving van will be much greater than the mass of a motorcycle, so how can they have the same momentum?

They can have the same momentum if the velocity of the moving van is less than the velocity of the motorcycle, or if the velocity of the motorcycle is greater than the moving van (same thing but differently worded)

Let the mass of the moving van be greater than the mass of the motorcycle by a factor of k. In order for the two to have the same momentum, the velocity of the motorcycle must be greater than the velocity of the moving van by the same factor, k.

Hope this helps! :)

Is a  vector quantity  that refers to "the rate at which an object changes its position." imagine a person moving rapidly - one step forward and one step back - always returning to the original starting position. while this might result in a frenzy of activity, it would result in a zero velocity. because the person always returns to the original position, the motion would never result in a change in position. since velocity is defined as the rate at which the position changes, this motion results in zero velocity. if a person in motion wishes to maximize their velocity, then that person must make every effort to maximize the amount that they are displaced from their original position. every step must go into moving that person further from where he or she started. for certain, the person should never change directions and begin to return to the starting position.