Question

How can impulse exerted on something be increased?

Answer 1

Impulse is the effect of force over a period of time. Impulse is the product of force and time interval .It can also be defined as the change in momentum. From the following relations, the impulse depends on the force, time interval and the change in momentum.
Formulas used:
$\dfrac{\Delta p}{\Delta t}=F$

Complete answer:
According to Newton’s Second law of motion, the product of mass and acceleration is force. Also the force can also be defined as the rate of change of momentum. Therefore,
$\dfrac{\Delta p}{\Delta t}=F$ - (1)
Here, $\Delta p$ is the change in momentum
$\Delta t$ is the change in time or time interval
$F$ is the force acting on a body
Impulse is a term which represents the effect of force over a period of time. Or in other words, it tells us about the action of force over a period of time. Therefore, impulse is
$I=F\Delta t$
Here, $I$ is the impulse
From eq (1), $I$ is also calculated as
$I=\Delta p$
From the above two equations, the impulse is directly proportional to the force, time interval and the change in momentum. So, the impulse can be increased by increasing the magnitude of force which can be done by increasing the mass or acceleration of the body.
Impulse can also be increased by increasing the time interval or by increasing the magnitude of change in momentum. The change in momentum can be increased by increasing the velocity of the body.
Therefore, Momentum can be increased by increasing the magnitude of force, increasing the time interval or the change in momentum of a body.

Note:
Impulse is a vector quantity as it is the product of a vector and a scalar. The product of mass and velocity is called momentum. Momentum is a vector quantity. The impulse is important because it helps us understand the net effect of the force on the motion of a body.