Lab#14 Impulse-Momentum activity

EXPT1: Cart "elastic" (bouncing collisions)

Set up

  1. Clamp the dynamics cart to a rod clamped to a lab table. Extend the spring plunger on the dynamics cart.

  2. Mount a force sensor on another dynamics cart.

  3. Set things up such that the stopper of the moving cart hits the plunger of the stationary cart when the moving cart gets close to the end of the track.

  4. Collide the cart with the plunger several times and observe what happens to the spring plunger.

  5. Set up the motion sensor and zero the motion sensor with the mass hanger.

EXPT2: More massive cart "elastic" (bouncing collisions)

  Add 500g on the cart. 

EXPT 3: Impulse-Momentum Theorem in an Inelastic collision

  Remove the dynamics cart from its clamp and replace it with the wooden "wall" and attach a a blob of clay to the wall at the height of the nail, and replacing the rubber stopper with a nail. Leave the extra mass on the cart.

Summary:

  Compare EXPT 1 and EXPT 2, when add the mass, Impulse-Momentum is increasing.Impulse-Momentum is proportional to the mass when the velocity is not change. Compare EXPT 2 and EXPT 3, in elastic collision, the cart will move to the opposite direction after collision, but in inelastic collision, the cart will stop after collision.