Investigating Momentum

A toy car on an inclined plane with different reference points. When the toy car is
released starting from a specific reference point, it moves the block of wood to a certain
distance. This distance is called the stopping distance.

Guide Questions:
Q1. How will you compare their stopping distances?
Answer: The stopping distance for the heavy toy car is longer than the stopping distance
of the light toy car.

Q2. Did the two toy cars immediately stop as they hit the block of wood? Describe the stopping
distances of the two toy cars as their point of release increases.
Answer: No. The stopping distance increases as the point of release increases.

Q3. What do you think happens to the velocity of the two toy cars as point of release increases?
The velocity increases as the point of release of release increase.

Q4. If momentum is a measure of how difficult it is to stop a moving object, which of the two
cars had a greater momentum for the same point of release?
The heavy toy car had a greater momentum.

Q5. How will it be possible for the two bodies of different masses to have equal momentum?
The less massive body should have the greater velocity than the more massive body

Q6. Based on the activity, momentum is affected by different factors such as mass and velocity.
How will you define momentum using the two factors?
Momentum is the mass of an object multiplied by its velocity.