Elise Dieter

10/22/20
MYP Physics 4B
Elastic Collisions

Problem Statement-

When pushing two wireless smart carts together using

the elastic collisions method on a level track, is momentum conserved? Will it still
be conserved even after changing variables?

Hypothesis-
I believe that using the elastic collision method will conserve momentum because
the way the method my group is using works, one cart travels forward then the
magnets push the stand-still cart away from the orignal cart that is moving. This
to me shows that it is very likely to see conservation of momentum happening.

Variables-
In a collision the variables are mass of carts, velocity of carts and momentum of
carts. These variables can be manipulated by adding and taking away mass to
carts(the weights), how hard or soft you push the carts to change velocity, and
how far or close the carts are from each other to change momentum. To collect
the data, we will be using the SparkVue software which hooks up with bluetooth
to the carts. The software tracks the cart’s speed and distance but that can be
changed to fit what experiment you are doing. We will be adding weights, and
changing speed for our experiment.

Data tables-

Before Collision
 Red Cart Blue Cart

Mass (kg) Velocity Momentum Mass (k) Velocity Momentum

(m/s) (g m/s) (m/s) (g m/s)

250g 0.460m/s 115g m/s 250g 0.011m/s 2.75 gm/s

500g 0.437m/s 218.5g m/s 250g 0.028m/s 7g m/s

750g 0.313m/s 234.75g m/s 250g 0.032m/s 8g m/s

500g 0.491m/s 245.5g m/s 500g 0.052m/s 26g m/s

250g 0.776m/s 194g m/s 250g 0.010m/s 2.51 m/s

After Collision

Red Cart Blue Cart

Mass (g) Velocity Momentum Mass (g) Velocity Momentum

(m/s) (g m/s) (m/s) (g m/s)

250g 0.009m/s 2.25g m/s 250g 0.465m/s 116.25g m/s

500g 0.140m/s 70g m/s 250g 0.524m/s 131g m/s

750g 0.161m/s 120.75g m/s 250g 0.480m/s 120g m/s

500g 0.047m/s 23.5g m/s 500g 0.467m/s 233.5g m/s

250g 0.006m/s 1.5g m/s 250g 0.770m/s 192.5g m/s

Method-
1- No 250g weights on both of the carts, use a slow to medium speed.
2- One 250g weight on one carts, use a slow to medium speed.
3- Two 250g weights on one carts, use a slow to medium speed.
4- One 250g weight on each carts, use a slow to medium speed.
5- One cart goes faster than the original speed we were using. Use the brick to
push the carts off with the trigger at the end of them. No 250kg weights on either
of the carts.
Data Analysis Table-

Collision # Total Total Difference in Error in

Momentum Momentum Momentums Conservation
Before After

1 117.75g m/s 118.5g m/s 0.75g m/s 0.63%

2 225.5g m/s 201g m/s 24.5g m/s 10.8%

3 242.75g m/s 240.75g m/s 2g m/s 0.82%

4 271.5g m/s 257g m/s 14.5g m/s 5.3%

5 196.51g m/s 194g m/s 2.51 m/s 1.2%

Data Interpretation-
The data that I collected shows that momentum was pretty consistent between
both of the carts. This shows that momentum was passed through the carts and
therefore proving my hypothesis valid. I think that the source of error that we see
displayed is from human error. Humans cannot consistently push the cart the
same way every time. I say that it is human error because the error percentages
change each time. That is the human pushing the cart at different speeds and
with different force.

Conclusion-
In conclusion, the data I’ve collected by having 5 different trials, shows that my
hypothesis was correct in saying that the elastic method does in fact conserve
momentum. This is shown in the data table where there is hardly a difference in
momentums which means that the momentums were passed between carts.
Momentum was still conserved even after changing up the variables of the
experiment.