Momentum and Force on a Box

1. Get a box from the teacher. Fill it with newspaper. Measure the mass of the box and the paper. Use a spring scale to figure the force of friction. Now, divide by the mass of the box to figure acceleration due to friction _______ m/s/s

Now, throw a ball into the box from a distance of around a meter. As soon as the ball leaves your hand, it should have a constant velocity. The box will move as a result of the ball hitting the box.

2. Draw a picture of the ball and the box before they interact, and after they interact using a momentum drawing.

3. Measure the distance the box traveled in meters. Since the only thing slowing the box down was friction, we can now find the initial speed of the ball and the box. d = _____ m

d = _____ m
v(f)= 0 m/s
a= a(friction) = ______ m/s/s
v(i) = ??


4. Can we say that v(i) is the speed of the ball before the collision? Why or why not? Explain to me, using the equation m(ball)v + m(box)*0 = m(ball)v(i) + m(box)v(i)




Turn this sheet in INDIVIDUALLY WHEN YOU ARE DONE.


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THOUGHT LABS--EVERYONE HANDS IN THEIR OWN SHEET AT THE END OF THE HOUR

GENERAL DIRECTIONS:

For each of the following situations below, design a procedure to determine experimentally the unknown quantity specified in the problem. You may not damage or destroy any of the equipment you use, and your method must be feasible and practical.

In each case,

- List the equipment you would need, and include a labeled diagram.

- Write a brief but concise procedure, describing any measurements you

would make, assigning each measurement a symbol (e.g. time = t ) .

- Show explicitly using equations how the measured quantities would be

used to determine the unknown quantity.

- Indicate one possible source of experimental error and discuss how it

would affect your value for the unknown quantity you are ultimately

measuring.

A. Given a 10 g paintball, and a 2 kg target on wheels, determine the momentum of the paintball.

B. Given two protons, one traveling to the left, and another traveling to the right, at .99% of the speed of light, what will be the momentum on collision?

C. Given a ramp that is 10 cm high, with a marble at the bottom, and a second marble, determine the momentum of the first marble at the moment of collision.

D. Given two carts, one with a mass of 1 kg, and one with a mass of 2 kg, moving towards one another at a speed of 2 m/s, what will be the resulting motion if they stick together at the moment of collision?

E. Given a baseball, a bat, and a video camera, determine the change in velocity of the ball.