Impulse Experiment
Set up the experiment as shown with a Pasco track, bumper bracket, force sensor with either one of the two springs or a rubber stopper. Have the track on a very gentle slope.
You will need a school computer running the Capstone software and a pasco car/trolley
N.B. the bumper bracket you will use (shown here ) is slightly different to the one shown above!
Using a school computer for the experiment, click the following link to download the Forces during Collisions Experiment Set Up File
Open the experiment file with Capstone.
Choose either the strong spring, the week spring or the robber stopper and connect it to the force sensor as shown above.
Press start and release the trolley until it collides with the bumper bracket. Press stop immediately after it collides.
Repeat the experiment with the other spring and stopper. Release the trolley from the same point each run. (note if you delay the release by a slightly different time for each experiment the results will not overlap and they will all be easy to see on the graph.)
Take a screen shot of your graph with the three collisions on it, transfer it to your own computer and add it to your class notes/blog.
Answer the following questions, also in your notes/blog:
Compare the three graphs. Write down what you notice about the shapes of the graph. Consider the following:
How do the maximum forces in the collisions compare?
How do the length of times of the collisions compare?
How do the areas under the graphs compare?
Think about the momentum of the trolley just before each collision. How do they compare?