To demonstrate the law

of conservation of
Momentum, to demonstrate
elastic and inelastic
collision

Introduction
Momentum is a product of mass and
velocity, and is a vector quantity.
According to the law of conservation
which states that if there is no
external forces acting on the system,
the momentum is conserved at all time.
The most popular way to study the
conservation of momentum is through
the study of collision. There are two
kinds of collision; elastic collision,
where both momentum and kinetic
energy is conserved, and inelastic
collision, where only momentum is
conserved. However, external forces
such as
friction do act onto objects
in real life, meaning that the momentum
is not 100% conserved.
Also, macroscopic collision, or the
collision that could be seen by bare
eyes, are usually inelastic, meaning
that kinetic energy is converted to
other forms.

Materials

1. Measure the mass of each of the

carts by using the mass scale. Note
down the mass for further
calculations.
2. Level the Vernier track carefully by
adjusting the leveling screws.
3. Position cart #1 at the end of the track
4. Let the position of 30 cm from the end be
the start position
5. Let the position of 50 cm be the collision
position by placing another cart (Cart #1) here.
6. Let the position of 70 cm be the finish position.
7. Prepare two stop watches, one for finding the initial
velocity (time from 30cm-50cm) and another for the
final velocity (time from 50cm-70cm)

Inelastic

Elastic

Part 1 : Inelastic collision

1. For inelastic collision, position the cart by letting the velcro side of

each of the cart facing each other.

2. Lightly push cart #2
3. When each of the cart reach the velocity deciding line, lap the timer.
5. When the cart collide, lap the timer again. Take in account the position
where both cart collide.
6. When the cart reach the velocity deciding line again, lap the timer.
7. If there is additional mass, add the mass then repeat step 2-6 again.

Part 2: Elastic collision

1. For elastic collision, position the cart by letting the magnetic side of each of
the cart facing each other. The magnet will repel each other, causing the cart to
part form each other when in contact.
2. Lightly push cart #2.

3. When cart #2 reach the position of 30 cm, start the timer.

4. When the cart collide with cart #1, stop the first timer, and start the second
timer at the same time.
5. When the system travelled 20 cm, stop the second timer.
6. Write all data in the data tab.

Results:
Inelastic collision
Table 1 : Time, velocity, momentum, and percent difference for trial for inelastic collision
Time
taken
for
cart
#2 to
travel
20 cm
(s)

Initial
velocity
of cart
#2
(cm/s)

Initial
momentum of
the
system

Initial
kinetic
energy
(gcm/s )

(gcm/s)

Time
taken
for
the
system
to
travel
20 cm

Final
Velocity
of the
system
(cm/s)

Final
momentum of
the
system

Final
kinetic
energy
(gcm/s )

%diff
of the
momen
-tum

(gcm/s)

(s)

0.10

200

102700

10270000

0.20

100

102410

5120500

0.17

117.65

60413.28

3553810.90

0.35

57.14

58517.07

1671832.80

0.46

43.48

22326.98

485388.55

0.93

21.50

22018.15

236695.11

Avg

120.38

61813.42

4769733.15

59.55

60981.74

2343009.30

1.35%

Equation used to calculate each values

Analysis
From the first data table, which contains
the time, velocity, momentum and kinetic energy
of the demonstration inelastic collision, it
could be observed that the magnitude of the
momentum doesnt have any drastic change.
However, it could be observed that the kinetic
energy of the system is not conserved
overtime. The percentage difference (%diff)
shown in the data table shows that some of

the momentum in the experiment wasnt

conserved. The difference could be the
result of external forces that were acting
onto the system, such as frictional forces,
or other possible human errors, such as the
time taken to press the timer. To improve the
experiment, a way to lessen, or abolish the
frictional force should be done, and the
experiment should be done in several trials in
order to get the most accurate results
possible.

Results:
elastic collision
Table 1 : Time, velocity, momentum, and percent difference for trial for elastic collision

Time
taken
for
cart
#2 to
travel
20 cm
(s)

Initial
velocity
of cart
#2

00.87

22.99

11805.37

01.00

20

00.75

AvG

Time
taken
for
cart#1
to
travel
20 cm
(s)

Final
Velocity
of cart
#1
(cm/s)

Final momentum
of the
system

135702.67

00.91

21.98

10270

102700

01.03

26.6

13659.10

181666.03

23.20

11911.49

140022.90

(cm/s)

Initial
momentum of
the
system

Initial
kinetic
energy
(gcm/s )

(gcm/s)

Final
kinetic
energy
(gcm/s )

%diff
of
momentu
m

11222.99

123340.64

19.42

9915.85

96282.92

00.79

25.32

12928.39

163673.44

22.24

11355.74

127765.67

4.78%

(gcm/s)

Equation used to calculate each values

Analysis
From the second data table, which shows
the time, velocity, momentum and kinetic
energy of the demonstration of elastic
collision, it could be observed that the
magnitude of momentum and kinetic
energy did not have a drastic difference
over the time interval. There are some of
the momentum that were lost and some
kinetic energy that were converted into
other kind of energy. The percentage

difference (%diff) was calculated in

order to Indicate the error during the
demonstration, in which the error could
be the result from the external
frictional force that was acting onto the
system, or any other imperfections done
during the experiment such as human
errors. In order to Improve the
experiment, many trials should be done,
as precise as possible, in order to get
the most accurate results possible.

Conclusion
To conclude, the experiment demonstrates
elastic collision and inelastic collision, the
conservation of momentum, and how to apply the
content learned in class, such as the
calculations. The experiment shows that
momentum is conserved during both elastic
collision and inelastic collision as well as the
kinetic energy for elastic collision.

Reference
Giancoli, D. C. (1998). Physics: Principles with applications
(Global ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.