Activity Overview
In this lesson, students will explore the impulse produced by a cart when it hits a stationary wall.
Objectives
- Students will determine the force exerted by a stationary object on the cart during a collision and the time of collision.
- Students will relate the effects of changes on mass and speed of motion on the magnitude of the impulse.
- Students will develop an understanding of the relationships between force, speed, time, and impulse.
Vocabulary
- force
- impulse
- mass
- speed
- time
About the Lesson
This lesson allows students to observe the elastic collision of a moving cart with a stationary object.
As a result, students will:
- Measure the force exerted by the stationary object on the cart during the collision and the time of collision.
- Add mass to the cart and change its speed and observe the effects of these changes on the magnitude of the impulse.
- Collect experimental data and measure impulse while changing mass and speed.