Education Technology


Physics: Impulse of a Force

by Texas Instruments - Data Collection with Probes Lesson

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.