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1.
Background
An
inelastic collision is one where the total kinetic energy
of the colliding particles is not the same after the collision
as it was before. An example is a toy car smashing towards
a wall. Before the collision, the car moves fast
and has lots of kinetic energy - and afterward, it
has zero kinetic energy. An elastic collision
is when the sum of the kinetic energy of all the colliding
particles is the same after the collision as it is before. An example
of elastic collision is a basketball bouncing off a backboard.
The ball comes back with the same level of kinetic energy
as it had when it went forward, which means it was an elastic collision.
In this experiment, a group of students will use 2 collision
carts with a data-logging system to study the
characteristics of collision and the conservation of momentum
during the collision. The group will then present their
findings to the class.
2.
Objective
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To
study an elastic collision. |
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To study the conservation of momentum during the collision.
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3.
List
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Datalogger
interface connected to a PC |
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2 motion sensors / 2 pairs of photogates |
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2
collision carts with magic tape |
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Air track |
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