Pasco Scientific ME-6956, Instruction Manual And Experiment Manual

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10
PAScar Accessory Track Set (2.2 Meter) 012-07558A
®
B. Cars with Unequal Mass
Put two mass bars in one of the cars so that the mass of one car is approximately three
times the mass (3M) of the other car (1M).
Case 1:
Place the 3M car at rest in the middle of the track. Give the other car an initial
velocity toward the car at rest.
Case 2:
Place the 1M car at rest in the middle of the track. Give the 3M car an initial
velocity toward the car at rest.
Case 3: Start the cars with one at each end of the track. Give each car approximately
the same velocity toward each other.
Case 4:
Start both cars at one end of the track. Give the first car a slow velocity and
the second car a faster velocity, so that the second car catches the first car. Do
this for both cases: first with the 1M car, and then first with the 3M car.
Part II: Completely Inelastic Collisions
3. Orient the two cars so that the ends with the Velcro tabs are toward each other. Make
sure the plunger bar is completely pushed in so it won't interfere with the collision.
4. Repeat the same procedures listed in
Part I
for cars with equal mass
and
cars with
unequal mass.
Questions
1. When two cars having the same mass and the same speed collide and stick together,
they stop. What happened to each car’s momentum? Is momentum conserved?
2. When two cars having the same mass and the same speed collide and bounce off of
each other elastically, what is the final total momentum of the cars?