Name ___________________________________Date______
Air Track Collisions Interactive Labs http://www.physicslessons.com/exp5b.htm
Settings: e = 1, dt = 1 (do not change these)
Experiment 1 – One Object Bumps Into Another
In the next experiments, you will start with the green block at rest and the red one moving until it collides to see how fast the resting block will move.
Settings & Procedure
1. Start with the red block havin a mass of 1 Kg
2. Start with the left end of the red block at the 0 mark on the ruler.
3. Start with the left end of the green block at the 1 mark on the ruler
4. Watch the timer, hit pause when your green block slides off the ruler and record how long it took
5. Adjust the settings according to the data table and fill in the times for each
Predictions: Will a heavier block move the green block farther? _____________
Will a faster moving block move the green block farther? _____________
Mass of Moving Block (red) |
Velocity of Moving Block |
Mass of Stationary Block (green). Vel =0 |
Time it took for green to slide off |
1.0 kg |
2 m/s |
1 kg |
|
1.5 kg |
2 m/s |
1 kg |
|
2.0 kg |
2 m/s |
1 kg |
|
2.5 kg |
2 m/s |
1 kg |
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3.0 kg |
2 m/s |
1 kg |
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1.5 kg |
2 m/s |
1 kg |
|
1.5 kg |
4 m/s |
1 kg |
|
1.5 kg |
6 m/s |
1 kg |
|
1.5 kg |
8 m/s |
1 kg |
|
1.5 kg |
10 m/s |
1 kg |
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Conclusions:
1. Increasing the mass of the red block will [ decrease / increase ] the amount of seconds it takes for the green block to slide off the track.
2. Increasing the velocity of the red block will [ decrease / increase ] the amount of seconds it takes for the green block to slide off the track.
3. What will happen if the green block weighs more than the red block? Test it by changing the settings.
a) both the red and the green block will slide off the track
b) only the red block will slide off the track
c) only the green block will slide off the track
Experiment 2: Two objects Moving Toward Each Other
(in these cases your green block will have a negative velocity)
Predictions: What happens if they are both the same mass? _________________________
What if one of them is much larger than the other? ______________________
Create your own experiments by adjusting the velocities and masses of the two blocks. To make the green block go toward the red, set its velocity to a negative number.
In this case, you will want to start with the red and green blocks opposite each other on the track.
Data Table
Velocity of Red |
Mass of Red |
Velocity of Green |
Mass of Green |
Time |
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Conclusions – Describe each with complete and thorough sentences. Be specific in your descriptions! Use drawings if it helps you to explain.
1. What happens when the blocks have an equal mass and velocity?
2. What happens when one block is much larger than the other, but they are moving at the same (but opposite) velocities?
3. What happens when the blocks are the same size, but one of them is moving with a greater speed?
Other air tracks:
https://www.msu.edu/~brechtjo/physics/airTrack/airTrack.html
http://www.learnerstv.com/animation/animation.php?ani=36&cat=Physics