Experiment No. 2 COLLISIONS ONALINEAR AIR TRACK To study the conservation or los

Question

Experiment No. 2 COLLISIONS ONALINEAR AIR TRACK To study the conservation or loss of momentum and kinetic energy in both elastic and inelastic collisions. To determine which collision are elastic and which are inelastic. Purpose: 1. Define momentum and kinetic energy 2. Explain the conservation of linear momentum 3. Explain the conservation of kinetic energy 4. Explain what occurs to momentum and kinetic energy in an elastic collision 5. Explain what occurs to momentum and kinetic energy in an inelastic collision 6. Define coefficient of restitution Introduction Questions:

Explanation / Answer

Q1)

Momentum: It is the amount of motion contained in a body. It is given by the product of the object's mass and it's instantaneous velocity.

Kinetic energy: It is the energy possessed by a body by virtue of its state of motion.It is given by the product of the object's mass and the square of it's instantaneous velocity.

Q2)

A body continues to be in its state of rest or of uniform motion (i.e. of constant linear momentum) if the net external force acting on it is zero.

Q3)

Under the absence of dissipative forces, a body in motion cantiues to maintain its velocity constant. Thus, it's kinetic energy is also conserved.

The subtle difference between conservation of momentum and Kinetic energy is seen in inelastic collisions.Here, the momentum is conserved but the production of heat and other forms of energy leads to a decrease in the overall kinetic energy.

Q4)

Momentum is always conserved in any collison. It is a fact.

In an elastic collision, there are no other forms of energies produced and thus the kinetic energy is also conserved.

Q5)

Momentum is always conserved in any collison. It is a fact.

The production of heat, deformation of the object etc. require energy and derive it from a portion of the initial total kinetic energy of the system. Thus the final K.E is reduced.

Q6)

In inelastic collisions, the coefficient of restitution is a measure of the amount of kinetic energy retained by the system of colliding masses. It varies from 0 thru 1.

If it is 1, then the system has undergone an elastic collision.Anything less denotes an inelastic collision. The lesser, the more kinetic energy is wasted.

Formula:

c is the ratio of the relative speed after collision to the relative speed before collision.

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