Darshan Patel

Professor: Linghua Zhu

Physics Lab 126: Conservation of Momentum and Impulse --- Momentum
Theorem
Lab Date: 11/04/15
I. Objective
1. To verify the conservation of momentum for fully elastic and totally
inelastic conditions.
2. To verify the Impulse-Momentum Theorem
II. Theoretical Background
For a body of mass m moving with velocity v, its linear momentum p is
defined as
(1)p = mv
For an external force F acting during time interval deltaT, the impulse J is
defined as
(2)

J = Favg * t

According to Newtons laws of motions, changing the motion of an object

requires the application of net external force. This leads to the ImpulseMomentum Theorem.
(3)J = p = pf pi
There are three types of collisions: fully elastic where both momentum and
kinetic energy are conserved amid collision; inelastic collision where
momentum is conserved while kinetic energy is not; totally elastic collision
where momentum is conserved while kinetic energy is not, and the two
objects stick together so the final velocities are the same after the collision.
III. Results: Data sheet
Part 1
Table 1

Trial #
1
2
3

M1
.1989
.1989
.2995

M2
.2995
.3995
.2995

V1
4.742
6.161
4.173

V1
4.312
3.346
4.936

V2
1.454
2.627
.742

Table 2
Trial #
1
2
3

M1
.2995
.1989
.1989

M2
.2995
.2995
.3995

Vinitial
.665
.688
.590

M
.2003
.3003
.4003

V
.298
.295
.266

V
-.260
-.251
-.214

Vfinal
.266
.215
.157

Part 2f
Table 3
Trial #
1
2
3

IV. Results: Calculations

Table 1
Trial 1
Initial KE:
KE = 0.5 mv^2
KE = 0.5 x .1989 x 4.7422 = 2.236J
Initial Momentum:
p = mv
p = 0.1989 x 4.742 = 0.943 kg(m/s)
Final KE:
KE = 0.5 x 0.1989 x 4.3122 = 1.850J
Final Momentum:
p = 0.1989 x 4.312 = 0.857 kg(m/s)
Trial 2
KEi = 3.775

J
-1.579
-1.636
-2.079

pi = 1.225
KEf = 1.113
pf = 0.666
Trial 3
KEi = 2.608
pi = 1.250
KEf = 3.649
pf = 1.478
Table 2:
Trial 1
Initial KE:
KE = 0.5 x 0.2995 x 0.6652 = 0.0662
Initial Momentum:
p = 0.2995 x 0.665 = 0.1992
Final KE:
KE = 0.5 x (0.1989 + 2.995) x 0.2662 = 0.1130
Final Momentum:
p = (0.1989 +2.995) x 0.266 = 0.850
Trial 2
KEi = 0.04707
pi = 0.1368
KEf = 0.0115
pf = 0.1072
Trial 3
KEi = 0.0346
pi = 0.1174
KEf = 0.0074

pf = 0.0939
Table 3:
Trial 1:
p = m2v2 - m1v1 = m(v - v)
p = -0.118
Trial 2
p = -0.1640
Trial 3
p = -0.1921
Error:
Percentage of energy lost = |Theoretical Experimental| x 100%
Theoretical
Table 1
Trial 1
Percent of KE lost = |2.236 1.850|/2.236 x 100% = 17.26%
Percent of momentum lost = |0.943 0.857|/0.943 x 100% = 9.11%
Trial 2
Percent of KE lost = 70.5%
Percent of momentum lost = 21.6%
Trial 3
Percent of KE lost = 78.6%
Percent of momentum lost = 20.0%
Table 2
Trial 1
Percent of KE lost = 70.7%
Percent of momentum lost = 326.7%

Trial 2
Percent of KE lost = 75.6%
Percent of momentum lost = 21.6%
Trial 3
Percent of KE lost = 78.6%
Percent of momentum lost = 20.0%
Table 3
Trial 1
Impulse = -1.579
p = -0.118
Difference = |-1.579-(-.118)|/-1.579 * 100% = 92.5%
Trial 2
Impulse= -1.636
p = -0.1640
Difference = 90.0%
Trial 3
Impulse = -2.079
p = -0.1921
Difference = 90.8%
Observed fractional energy loss |(0.2995 x 0.665)-(0.2995 x 0.266)|/(0.2995
x 0.665) = 0.6
V. Discussion and Analysis of Results
1. In Part 1, calculate the percentage of momentum and kinetic energy
lost during the collision. What are the possible sources that cause the
loss? Where did the lost energy go?

The percentage error in the Kinetic energy before and after in Part 1
was 17.26%. 17.26% of the energy was lost due to other forms of energy
such as heat and friction. It was converted into other types of energy but
was not destroyed. Our momentums had a 9.11% difference and this is like
the kinetic energy lost and due to other forms of energy.
2. In Part 2, show that the fractional kinetic energy loss is M2/M1+M2 and
compare the fraction with your observed fractional energy loss.
The fractional kinetic energy loss is M2/M1 + M2.
This is shown clearly as in an example: .2995/.2995+.2995 = 5/10 or
50%
My calculated fractional energy loss was 6/10 or 60%.
There is a difference of 10% or 1/10.
In this experiment, we had some error present due to real-world
conditions present and the limitations of the precisions of the instruments
used during the lab. For example, the vibrations in the air and sound waves
could have altered the precise movements and energy loss. Some other
factors which could have resulted in this would be wind drafts, change in
temperature, and vibrations/sound waves. These interferences definitely led
to our data not being equal to the theoretical values. We could have done
this experiment better if we had used a more accurate method of measuring
the weights and made sure no factors such as vibrations and temperature
would affect our data. If I was to repeat this experiment, I would definitely
improve upon my mistakes and be able to produce more accurate results. I
learned how the conservation of momentum works and am able to now
apply it to real world scenarios. This lab also helped me explore the motion
of the objects and I learned how to find the kinetic and momentums of
objects and also about the three different types of collisions.
Conclusions:

In conclusion, this lab was very helpful and allowed me to gain a lot of
knowledge about the law of conservation of momentum. By varying the
weight of masses and colliding objects in different scenarios, we were able
to see if the total momentum and kinetic energy was indeed conserved as it
should be. Our error was very little and negligible though, and it would be
just to say that our experiment proved that we conserved momentum. We
indeed learned a lot from this experiment, and were successfully able to
calculate the initial and final momentums and kinetic energies