Purpose
In this activity, students will investigate the Conservation of Momentum and Energy during collisions.
Discussion
A target ball will be placed on the target support, and a second ball is placed on the track at the top of the inclined ramp, resting against the “starting” peg. When the upper ball is released, it will run down the ramp and strike the target ball, which will follow a parabolic trajectory and land on the floor. The distances of both balls will be measured from the plumb line point (directly below the impact/target holder) to the impact points for each ball. From those experiments, you will be able to calculate Conservation of Momentum and Energy for each trial in this lab.
