Collisions Lab

Last week in class we did the collision lab. We compared the conservation of momentum and energy in elastic and inelastic collisions. There was a red and a blue cart, and a motion sensor to help measure the velocity of each cart. The elastic collision resulted in the red cart colliding with the blue cart and the inelastic collision resulted in the carts sticking together with their Velcro fronts. 

Answers to the big questions: We found that elastic collisions conserve more energy than inelastic collisions do. We also calculated that momentum is more easily conserved through collisions than energy is. These patterns are shown in the picture below.

Some old and new equations and concepts we had to use today:

- Momentum = mass x force

- KE=1/2mv^2

- to calculate energy/momentum lost: final - initial divided by final x100

\We see collisions all the time but perhaps one of the most glamorous is the collision between bat and ball during a baseball game. This is an inelastic collision - neither the ball nor the bat have elastic qualities. Much of the energy from the collision travels through the bat into the hands of the batter but perhaps the most recognizable cause for the high amount of energy lost in inelastic collisions stems from the loud "crack" made when the contact occurs.