Lab Report momentum IA topic

[brastu]

I did a lab and now i'm doing an IA on it. I had an inclined plane from which i realeased a ball from different heights and a ball b, at rest, on a plane surface after the incline. once they collide ball b moves and a continues moving in the same direction with a slower speed. This is elastic collision right?

If so i could use my velocity values to show that they add up to the initial velocity of ball A.

I really need help on developing a IA title on this one!! please please

[larry]

uh, there's no such thing as truly elastic collisions at a macroscopic level. I believe the closest you'll get is bouncing steel balls off a steel table. However, in order to do calculations with momentum in this experiment, I suspect you're expected to take it as an eleastic collision (the loss of momentum is your biggest systematic error. Unless you wanted to try find the loss of momentum as your experiment?) Then, yes, you should be able to calculate the new velocity of ball B if you measured the new speed of at least one of the balls (remember the momentum has now been split between ball A and B, and unless you measure it you can't calculate the split).

Regarding an exact title, I think the idea is you try come up with one, and then we help you with it.

[brastu]

ok, THANKSSSa lot, i got it.

My question is:

How does the velocity of ball A on collision with ball B, affect ball B's velocity?

It is an attempt to show conservation of momentum and energy. I did the lab and it comes close to an elastic collision. But off course we have to account energies lost inthe system and the existence of external forces. In the end its not a perfect design, but you get lots of info out of it....

I am almost done, just having trouble with the precision and accuracy part. This is my first IA so I don't really know what to include here. I have ways to try and make this a fair test but I'm a little confused under what category to place them. These are my ideas:

Use cardboard tube to release ball so that no external force affects its motion when it is released, mark position of ball with pen, having 3 repeats for each data collected, usinga potractor to check if the apparatus is perpendicular to surface, finding averages of results, using straight ruler marked in mm

I need more ideas and help on whether where each of these fall under... precise or accurate?

[JavierG]

ok, THANKSSSa lot, i got it.

My question is:

How does the velocity of ball A on collision with ball B, affect ball B's velocity?

It is an attempt to show conservation of momentum and energy. I did the lab and it comes close to an elastic collision. But off course we have to account energies lost inthe system and the existence of external forces. In the end its not a perfect design, but you get lots of info out of it....

I am almost done, just having trouble with the precision and accuracy part. This is my first IA so I don't really know what to include here. I have ways to try and make this a fair test but I'm a little confused under what category to place them. These are my ideas:

Use cardboard tube to release ball so that no external force affects its motion when it is released, mark position of ball with pen, having 3 repeats for each data collected, usinga potractor to check if the apparatus is perpendicular to surface, finding averages of results, using straight ruler marked in mm

I need more ideas and help on whether where each of these fall under... precise or accurate?

Yes, it does affect. If you think it over, the momentum, p, is m·v. So, acording to this fact, the bigger the velocity, the bigger the momentum, so when ball A hit's ball B and transfers the momentum, if it's bigger, it will transfer a bigger momentum.

As for the fair test, as you said, there are multiple ways. I usually make 5 or more repeats for each data collect, so the after the graph will look much better. Well, it always depends on what you're measuring but, in that lab specifically, I would do 5.

I don't understand why you would want a carboard tube though.