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 AP Physics

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Conservation of Momentum

EXPLORATION  EXPERIMENTATION  EVALUATION 

Exercise 1 Momentum of Marbles

In this exercise you will observe the collisions of marbles and make predictions on their motion
based on the Law of Conservation of Momentum.

Procedure

Part 1: Experimental Setup

1 Gather the supplies necessary for the experiment including the experiment bag, the wooden
board with groove, wooden ruler, a textbook, small notepads, and safety goggles.

2 Put on your safety goggles.

3 Set up the wooden board with grooved track on a flat surface.

Note: Assure the board is level by testing with a marble set carefully at several locations on the
track. The marble should not roll in any direction, no matter where it is set on the track. If the
marble rolls, try slipping a small item below one end of the board or the other to level the track.

4 Prop the wooden ruler up on one end using a textbook and align the lower end with the
wooden board so that the groove in the ruler aligns with the groove in the board. Use the note
pads to support the lower end of the ruler so that the transition from the ruler to the board is
smooth as shown in Figure 5.

 Data

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Figure 5. Experimental setup showing ruler and board groove alignment from above.

5 Place four small (14 mm) marbles into the center groove of the wooden board. The four
marbles should be lined up next to the ruler and touch each other as shown in Figure 6.

Note: Small marbles are 14 mm, medium marbles are 16 mm, and large marbles are 19 mm in
diameter.

Figure 6. Four marbles lined up at base of ruler in central groove of board.

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6 Predict how many marbles on the board will move when one small marble rolls down the ruler
and record your prediction in Data Table 1.

7 Place one small marble at the 15 cm mark of the ruler and let it roll down and impact the
marbles on the board. Closely observe and record the number of marbles that move. Also
record the nature of the motion, if present, relative to the speed of the rolling marble in Data
Table 1.

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8 Repeat steps 6-7 for the remaining trials (2-12) listed in Data Table 1.

Note: Align the first marble at the 15 cm mark of the ruler for trials using more than one marble on
the incline.

Cleanup:
Retain the ruler and wooden board setup for use in Exercise 2.

Exercise 1 - Questions

Question 1

What would happen to the momentum of a marble in this experiment if the angle of the inclined ruler
were increased or decreased?

Question 2

Based on your observations in Data Table 1, what can you conclude about the momentum of the
released marble(s) just before the impact and the momentum of the marble(s) knocked away after the
impact?​Include how your observations support that momentum is conserved or not conserved in your
answer.

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