Name: _______________________________________________________ Date Conducted: ______________

CONSERVING MOMENTUM
Introduction
Conservation of momentum is one of the fundamental laws in physics. It states that the total momenta of the bodies before
and after collision are equal. This law enables you to predict what will happen when cars collide, when basketball players bump
against each other, when billiard balls are struck by the one ball, and when a gun is fired.

Objective:
Investigate conservation of momentum for both one- and two- dimensional collisions.

Materials:
6 small identical marbles 2 big identical marbles 2 meter sticks protractor

Procedure
A. Collision in One Dimension
1. Place the metersticks side by side as shown, with the zero end near you. Place two small marbles in the space between the
metersticks, one at the zero and the other at the 25-cm mark.
0 25 cm
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2. Flick the marble on the zero end with your finger so it rolls and strikes at the 25-cm mark. Record your observations.
3. Place two small marbles at the zero end and another at the 25-cm mark2 of the metersticks. Then, flick the marble at the zero
end. Record your observations.

4. Repeat the procedure, but this time, one marble is placed at the zero end and two marbles are at the 25-cm mark. Record your
observations.

5. Continue changing the number of marbles at the zero end and at the 25-cm mark. Observe and record what happens in each case.
6. Place a big marble at the zero end and small marble at the 25-cm mark. Flick the big marble so it strikes the small marble. Observe
what happens. Note the distance traveled by the marble at the 25-cm mark. Compare this result to that from steps 1-2.
7. Switch the positions of the big and the small marble. Flick the small marble and observe what happens. Record your observations.

B. Collision in Two Dimension

1. Line two small marbles 25 cm apart on the flat surface, preferable on the floor. Mark the initial positions of the marbles.
2. Flick one marble in such a way that it will collide the other marble.
3. Trace the path of each marble after collision. Draw it on the space provided in your worksheet.
4. Using protractor, measure and take note of the angle between their paths after collision.
Data and Results
A. Collision in One Dimension
Number and Size of Marbles Observations
At zero end At 25-cm mark
1 small 1 small
2 small 1 small
1 small 2 small
3 small 1 small
1 small 3 small

1 big 1 small

1 small 1 big

B. Collision in Two Dimension

Angle:

Conclusion:
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Post-laboratory questions
1. How do you explain the results you obtained in this experiment?
a. Collision in one dimension

b. Collision in two dimensions

2. During collisions, more massive vehicles provide greater safety than smaller ones. How do you explain this on the basis of
conservation of momentum?

3. In one scene of a fantasy movie, the superhero grabs the villain by the neck and throws him forward. The superhero, however,
remains stationary. Does this scene violate the law of conservation of momentum? Why or why not?