Linville, Isenhour, Morkowski, van Leeuwen1

Morgan Linville, Anthony Isenhour

Anika Morkowski. Natali van Leeuwen
Ms. Sparrow
Physics, Period 6
8 December 2014
Gathering Momentum Lab
Purpose:
What will you learn from completing this experiment?
Hypothesis:
The force and momentum of the car will increase as the cars mass increases. The heavier the
mass of the car the farther the heavy object will slide.
Pre-Lab Questions:
1. You could get hit by the semi-truck.
2. The smaller car can stop faster than the semi-truck. The motorcycle can stop
faster than a car.
Procedure:
1. With the ramp flat on a table or floor, place the back of the cars wheels at one
end of the ramp and measure the distance from the front of the car to the end of the ramp.
Record this as distance car travels on the data sheet.
2. Raise the ramp up on the blocks. Place the heavy object at the bottom of the ramp
positioning a meter stick just behind and offset from the heavy object so that when the
object is hit, it will move without disturbing the meterstick.
3. Draw a picture of your experiment set up

Linville, Isenhour, Morkowski, van Leeuwen2

4. Mass the empty car and record your results on the data sheet.
5. Place the back of the cars wheels at the top of the ramp.
6. Release the car as you start the stopwatch. Stop timing when the car hits the heavy
object. Record this time on the data sheet.
7. Observe the car and the heavy object as the car hits the heavy object. Record your
observations. measure the distance the heavy object moved after being hit and record the
distance.
8. Complete three trials using the same mass. Record all data.
9. Add 250 gram weight to the car. Record the combined mass of the car and its
load. Repeat steps 4-7.
10. Add another 250 gram weight to the car (500 grams total). Record the combined
mass of the car and its load then repeat steps 4-7.
Data:
Distance Car Travel: 103cm

Empty Car

Mass (g)

Mass (kg)

Trail

Time (s)

Distance
Heavy Object
Moved (m)

507.52 g

0.05075 kg

1.25 s

.51 m

1.85 s

.6 m

1.35 s

.5 m
Average = .
5367 m

Car +250g

757.52 g

.7575 kg

2.20 s

.75 m

2.30 s

.81 m

Linville, Isenhour, Morkowski, van Leeuwen3

2.70 s

.9 m
Average = .82
m

Car +500g

1007.52 g

1.0075 kg

2.95 s

1.07 m

2.55 s

.92 m

2.9 s

1.42 m
Average =
1.14 m

Average Time for all trials =

2.23 s

Data Explantation:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Convert mass from grams to kilograms (1000g=1kg) add record.

Calculate the average time for all trials and record.
Calculate the average distance the heavy object moved for each mass and record.
Write the final velocity in the chart below. the final velocity is the same for each

car.
5. Calculate the final velocity of the car ( the velocity at impact).
6. Step 1: Calculate the average speed of the car using the formula : s-d/t or average
speed = distance car traveled/ average time for all trials
Step 2: Make sure that the final velocity has been entered in the correct column.
7. Calculate Momentum
Step 1: Copy the values for mass (kg) to the table below.
Step 2: Enter the final velocity into the table. It is the same for all.
Step 3: Calculate the momentum of each of the three cars at impact using the formula
p = mv or momentum = (mass in kg) (final velocity in m/s)

Linville, Isenhour, Morkowski, van Leeuwen4

Mass (kg)

Final Velocity (m/s)

Momentum (kg*m/s)

Empty Car

0.5075 kg

.46 m/s

1.10 kg*m/s

Car + 250 g

.7575 kg

.46 m/s

1.64 kg*m/s

Car + 500 g

1.0075 kg

.46 m/s

2.19 kg*m/s

8. Calculate acceleration using the formula a=v/t. Use the average time of all the
trails.
9. Calculate the force applied to the heavy object
Step 1: Copy the values for mass (kg) to the table below.
Step 2: Enter the acceleration into the able. It is the same for all.
Step 3: Calculate the force with which each of the car configuration hits the heavy object
using the formula F = ma. Record results below.

Car

Mass (kg)

Acceleration (m/s2)

Force (n)

Empty Car (no mass

added)

0.5075 kg

.21 (m/s2)

.107 n

250 grams added

0.7575 kg

.21 (m/s2)

.159 n

500 grams added

1.0075 kg

.21 (m/s2)

.212 n

Data Analysis:
1. What observations did you make about the movement of the heavy object? The
greater the mass of the car the farther the heavy object travelled.
2. Why were three trials done for each part of this experiment? To eliminate human
error as much as possible
3. What observations did you make about the movement of the car during collisions?
It slowed down upon impact, but did not completely stop.

Linville, Isenhour, Morkowski, van Leeuwen5

4. Which car had the greatest momentum? The heaviest car (500 g).
5. What is the relationship between the mass and momentum? The greater the mass,
the greater the momentum.
6. What do you predict would happen to the distance the heavy object would move if
you added another 100 grams of mass to the car? The heavy object would travel farther.
7. Which car had the greatest force on the heavy object? The heaviest one (500 g)
8. Define the Law of Conservation of Momentum. How would this law apply to
what you observed as the cars hit into the barrier? Law of Conservation of Momentum: In
the absence of an external force, the momentum of a system remains unchanged. the car
slowed down to compensate for the added mass from the sand to conserve the
momentum.
Conclusion:
We observed that when the car traveled down the ramp and collided with the stationary
cup the car moved the cup. the car also slowed down when it hit the cup, while in turn the cup
was speeding up. We learned that momentum is transferred when two objects collide. the car
transferred its momentum to the cup which made it move.