Skip to Content Go to sign in Skip to Primary Navigation Skip to Secondary Navigation Skip to Page Navigation Skip to Header Navigation Skip to Footer Navigation Read more about accessability options and our navigation

Physics Classroom is making strides to make our site accessible to everyone. Our site contains 6 navigation areas. The Primary, Secondary, and Page Level navigations have a screen reader version of their nav structure that allows using the left and right keys to navigate sibling navigation items, and up or down keys to navigate parent or child navigation items. The others can be navigated using tabs. The Primary Navigation handles the first 2 levels of site pages. The Secondary (which is not always available) handles the 3rd and 4th level of structure. The Page level navigation allows you to navigate the current page's headings quickly. The Header Navigation contains the Light/Dark Mode toggle, Search, Notifications and account login. The Breadcrumb Navigation contains the breadcrumb of the current page. If the current page has a breadcrumb, you can get to it by skipping to the content and tabbing in reverse (shift plus tab). The Footer Navigation contains links such as Privacy, Contact, about and terms. Some resources contain an Audio Player that can be activated by holding down the T key for 3 seconds, and then using K to pause and resume. While not every area of Physics Classroom is usable purely from keyboard and screen reader, we are committed to continue work on making this possible. If you have questions or need additional help, please use this link to contact us.

Return to screen reader navigation
Home Interactives Momentum, Collisions and Explosions Collision Carts Notes

Collision Carts Notes

Notes:

The Collision Carts Interactive is an adjustable-size file that displays nicely on smart phones, on tablets such as the iPad, on Chromebooks, and on laptops and desktops. The size of the Interactive can be scaled to fit the device that it is displayed on. The compatibility with smart phones, iPads, other tablets, and Chromebooks make it a perfect tool for use in a 1:1 classroom.

This Interactive is easy to use in order to analyze just about any type of collision or explosion. Different masses can be selected and velocities can easily be changed using the arrows. Collisions can be head-on collisions if the blue cart begins with a - velocity. The blue cart can also be dragged closer to the center of the track so that both carts are moving rightward and collide before reaching the end of the track.Use the Reset button before making any changes that will impact the next trial.

Teaching Ideas and Suggestions:

This Interactive can be used at just about any stage of the learning cycle on collisions and momentum conservation. In fact, one might want to use it on several occasions - for inelastic collisions, elastic collisions, and explosions.

The Physics Classroom has prepared three activities for use with this Interactive. The activities are titled Momentum Conservation in Explosions, Inelastic Collisions and Elastic Collisions. The activities are very similar to one another. As their names imply, one involves a study of exposions, one a study of inelastic collisions, and the other a study of elastic collisions. In each activity, students analyze two different explosions or collisions in an effort to accumulate evidence to show that momentum is or is not conserved in an explosion or by a system of two colliding carts. As written, the Interactives are intended to be used near the beginning to middle of a learning cycle on momentum conservation in explosions or collisions. It would be useful to have covered what is meant by momentum conservation so that students are able to reasonably interpret their results. The Background section of the activity includes a few short sentences that succinctly explain momentum conservation. The activity sheet utilizes a before- and after-collision momentum table to assist students in organizing their calculated data. The activity makes a great pre-cursor to any hands-on activity as well as a good pre-cursor to problem-solving activities in which students use momentum conservation to predict the after-collision velocities of colliding objects.
 
Our Collision Carts simulation is now available with a Concept Checker for inelastic collisions and a Concept Checker for elastic collisions. Do the simulation. Then follow it up with a Concept Checker.

Concept Checker - Inelastic Collisions

Concept Checker - Elastic Collisions

Related Resources:

There are numerous resources at The Physics Classroom website that serve as very complementary supports for the Collisions Carts Interactive. These include:
  • Minds On Physics Internet Modules:
    The Minds On Physics Internet Modules include a collection of interactive questioning modules that help learners assess their understanding of physics concepts and solidify those understandings by answering questions that require higher-order thinking. Assignments MC5, MC6, MC7, MC8, MC9, and MC10 of the Momentum and Collisions module provide great complements to this Interactive. They are best used in the middle to later stages of the learning cycle. Visit the Minds On Physics Internet Modules.

     
  • Animation: Numerous GIF Animations at The Multimedia Physics Studios
    The Momentum and Collisions section of the Multimedia Physics Studios has several instructive animations that depict the collisions of objects. Visit the Multimedia Physics Studios.

     
  • Curriculum/Practice: Several Concept Development worksheets at the Curriculum Corner will be very useful in assisting students in cultivating their understanding, most notably ...

    Action-Reaction and Momentum Conservation
    Collision Analysis

    Visit the Curriculum Corner.

     
  • Labwork:
    Simulations should always support (never supplant) hands-on learning. The Laboratory section of The Physics Classroom website includes several hands-on ideas that complement this Interactive. Three notable lab ideas include ...

    Before and After Lab
    Sand Balloon Lab
    Inelastic Collision Analysis

    Visit The Laboratory.
  • Science Reasoning Activities:
    Science classrooms should be filled with reasoning activities. There is one related activity in the Momentum and Collisions section of the Science Reasoning Center that will challenge students to employ close reading, data analysis, and logical reasoning. The activities are named ...

    Collisions

    Visit the Science Reasoning Center.

Additional resources and ideas for incorporating the Collisions Carts Interactive into an instructional unit on collisions can be found at the Teacher Toolkits section of The Physics Classroom website. Visit Teacher Toolkits.

Visit: Collision Carts Interactive