Mini Lab Activity: Momentum/Impulse

Claim
After completing the experiment, the scenario that produced the largest change in momentum
was the cart #2. The cart with the plunger caused the greatest impulse out of the two. The
impulse was calculated by finding the V1 and V2 of each cart on the velocity time graph.
Evidence
Once the materials were gathered and set up properly, we were ready to conduct the experiment.
In total, we conducted 4 trials. 2 trial were for the velcro cart (0.504 kg) and 2 were for the
plunger cart (0.512 kg). Each trial that we did was recorded in a velocity time graph. After
finishing all the trials, we found the points on each graph that was on logger pro, and put them in
the tables. All the data from the velocity time graphs are in the tables. Since V1 and V2 were
already found for each cart, we plugged them into the momentum equation and got the
momentum for each cart. By finding the change in momentum between the two, we were able to
get the impulse of each cart. The impulse of the velcro cart was -0.4473 kg m/s, whereas the
impulse of the cart with the plunger is -0.7261 kg m/s. Therefore, the cart with the greatest
impulse is the cart with the plunger. During the experiment there were sources of error involved.
For instance, the time the person released the car, and the time the other person pressed start on
the graph were not exact. This caused our data to be less precise.
Result Tables and Calculations:
Cart 1: Velcro

M (kg)

V1 (m/s)

V2 (m/s)

Trial 1

0.504

0.8910

0.0

Trial 2

0.504

0.8842

0.0

Average

0.504

0.8876

0.0

Cart 2: Plunger

M (kg)

V1 (m/s)

V2 (m/s)

Trial 1

0.512

0.8110

-0.6620

Trial 2

0.512

0.8408

-0.5248

Average

Cart #

0.512

M1 V1

0.8259

M2 V2

-0.5924

^P=M2 V2-M1 J (Impulse)

V1

0.504 kg (0.8876 m/s)

0.504 kg (0.0 m/s)

0.0 kg - 0.4473

-0.4473 kg m/s

m/s

0.4473 kg m/s

0.0 kg m/s

-0.4473 kg m/s

0.512 kg (0.8259 m/s)

0.512 kg (-0.5924 m/s) -0.3033 kg 0.4228 m/s

0.4228 kg m/s
Graphs:
Cart 1: (Velcro) Trial 1

Cart 1: (Velcro) Trial 2

-0.3033 kg m/s

-0.7261 kg m/s

-0.7261 kg m/s

Cart 1: (Plunger) Trial 1

Cart 2: (Plunger) Trial 2

Reasoning:
In the lab, one cart had velcro on the front, and the other had a plunger. When each cart
was run down the ramp, we observed that the trials were very different. The velcro cart stopped
when it hit the wall. However, the plunger bounced off the wall many times before slowing down
and coming to a complete stop. Therefore, the change in momenta had to be different between
the two. The cart with the plunger had a greater change in momentum. The cart with the plunger
had a larger change in momentum because its V2, peak velocity after collision, was decreasing
and in the negatives. The V2 of the cart with the velcro was always 0 m/s because when it
collided with the wall, it came to a stop. When calculating the impulse of the 2 carts, the plunger
had an impulse of -0.7261 kg m/s whereas the velcro had an impulse of -0.4473 kg m/s. The
clear answer is that cart 2 had a greater impulse. A scientific phenomena that supports my
connections and comments is the difference between a flat basketball and a pumped basketball.
When dribbling a flat basketball the ball just stops and stays on the ground. It does not bounce
back to your hand like it should. When you dribble a pumped basketball, the ball bounces back to
your hand. In this case, the flat basketball has a lower impulse or change in momentum than the
pumped ball. In the future, I can support my claim several ways. I could provide real life
examples that support what I state in my claim.