MIMTY 10/27/10 or 10/28/10

How might knowing the 2 types of collisions keep you safer? Give 2 examples.

MIMTY

Today we’re going to do a lab on collisions to see them in action. As we go through each demo, create a table like the one below. We'll do the first setup together.

SETUP-before PREDICTION-after ACTUAL-after

DRAWING

MOMENTUM = M X V

For the lab, we will assume each cart has a basic mass of 1 and a velocity of 1

Airtrack Collision LabLabs

SETUPS:

1) Elastic Collision. Cart A is moving. Cart B is sitting still. Both carts have the same mass.

2) Elastic Collision. Cart A is moving. Cart B is sitting still. Cart A has twice the mass of Cart B.

3) Elastic Collision. Cart B is moving. Cart A is sitting still. Cart A has twice the mass of Cart B.

4) Elastic Collision. Both carts are moving towards each other. Both carts have the same mass.

5) Inelastic Collision. Cart A is moving. Cart B is sitting still. Both carts have the same mass.

6) Inelastic Collision. Cart A is moving. Cart B is sitting still. Cart A has twice the mass of Cart B.

7) Inelastic Collision. Cart B is moving. Cart A is sitting still. Cart A has twice the mass of Cart B.

8) Inelastic Collision. Both carts are moving towards each other. Both carts have the same mass.

Airtrack Collision LabLabs

ANALYSIS

1) Explain Conservation of Momentum in your own words.2) You kick a soccer ball and it hits another one that was just

sitting on the ground. Describe how they will interact and how momentum is conserved.

3) Give one example of what could happen when 2 things hit if the Law of Conservation of Momentum didn't exist any more.

4) A five Kg fish swimming 1 m/s swallows an absentminded fish swimming toward it at a velocity that brings them to a halt immediately after lunch. What is the velocity of the smaller fish before lunch?

5) You have a friend who says that, after a golf ball collides with a bowling ball at rest, the speed gained by the bowling ball is very small, but it’s momentum exceeds the initial momentum of the golf ball. Your friend further asserts this is related to the negative momentum of the golf ball after collision. Another friend disagrees stating that this violates the law or conservation of momentum. Whom do you agree with and why?

CONCLUSION Write a 5 sentence conclusion explaining how this lab showed momentum is conserved

Airtrack Collision LabLabs

Exit Question

Imagine you run into a brick wall and stop. Explain how momentum is conserved in this situation (hint: think big!)