Momentum Mini Labs

Series of labs using video analysis to investigate the conservation of momentum in collisions

Momentum Mini Labs (pdf)
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Momentum Mini Labs (editable)
File Size:	1738 kb
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Tutorials

Part 1: Bowling Ball Collision

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If there are no external forces causing an impulse on a system, we can assume that the total momentum of the system will be conserved. Use the overlay to measure and the included stopwatch on the slo mo video to measure a change in time in order to calculate velocity

Use the conservation of momentum to calculate the mass of the bowling ball on the left if the one on the right has a mass of 5.6 kg

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Part 2: Potato Gun Ballistic Pendulum

​A clever way to measure the velocity of a very fast projectile (like a potato out of a potato gun) is to fire it into a more massive pendulum and measure the highest point in the swing.

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​Step 1 - Conservation of Energy

​Use the conservation of energy and the maximum height of the bucket’s swing to calculate the top velocity of the bucket and potato when it starts swinging after the collision.

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Step 2 - Conservation of Momentum

Use the conservation of momentum and the velocity of the potato/bucket system from part 1 to calculate the initial velocity of the potato

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Step 3 - Impulse and Momentum

Use the impulse and momentum with the potato velocity from part 2 and the time the potato was in the barrel to calculate the force of the potato gun

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Answer Checker

​To allow students to check their work to make sure that their answer is in the ballpark before submitting, they can enter their answers to this google form with data validation

Answer Checker Google Form

Answer Checker Google Form (Editable)

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Click Here for More Labs

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