Colliding Trolleys Practical
Investigating Collisions
Introduction
Momentum (kg m/s) = Mass (kg) x Velocity (m/s)
Aim
Materials
- Electronic balance
- Metre ruler
- 30cm ruler
- Several 1kg masses
- Two rubber bands
- Level bench top
- A4 paper
-Masking tape
Method
- Two trolleys were linked with the rubber bands.
- The trolleys were pulled apart and held with their front ends on the two lines.
- The trolleys were released. They accelerated towards each other and collided at the same time. How far the trolleys traveled in a given time was proportional to their velocities. The collision point was determined and marked on the piece of paper.
- The distance was measured from one line to the collision point and the same for the other line. Because the trolleys both collided at the same time, there was no need to measure the times because the distances were proportional to the collision speeds.
- Various masses were added to one or both of the trolleys and the experiment was repeated.
Results
d1 = 0.1m
m1 x d1 = 0.02
m2 = 0.2kg
d2 = 0.1m
m2 x d2 = 0.02
(m1 x d1) - (m2 x d2)
= 0 momentum