Momentum, Collisions and Explosions Labs
The following PDF files represent a collection of Lab write ups pertaining to the topic of Momentum, Collisions and Explosions. The Labs are synchronized to readings from the Tutorial, missions of the Minds On activities, and more. Teachers may print these Labs and their related Ruberics and use them freely with their classes. Learn more about creating a Lab Notebook for these activities as well as Reporting and Guidelines.
Available Labs
Select a Lab below to learn more about it, or download the teacher guide and other supporting documents.
Being Impulsive AboutMomentum Change Lab
How does the impulse experienced by an object in a collision compared to the resulting momentum change of that object?
Balloon Toss Lab
What variables affect the impact force in a collision and in what manner do they affect the force?
Rebounding versus Sticking Lab
How does the impulse and resulting momentum change of an object compare for two different collisions – an elastic collision involving rebounding and an inelastic collision in which the object sticks to the collision surface?
Before and After Lab
What predictive principles might be capable of describing the post-collision results for simple inelastic and elastic collisions?
Action-Reaction Lab
How do the post-explosion momenta of two carts which are propelled away from each other by an identical force compared to each other?
Sand Balloon Lab
How does the total momentum (vector sum) of two objects before a collision compared to the total momentum after the collision?
Inelastic Collision Analysis Lab
What is the evidence that momentum is conserved in an inelastic collision between two carts? In what manner does the evidence support the law of momentum conservation?
Elastic Collision Analysis Lab
What is the evidence that momentum is conserved in an elastic collision between two carts? In what manner does the evidence support the law of momentum conservation?
What's Cooking? Lab
What is the speed of a ball (in miles/hour) fired from a cannon?
Two-Dimensional Collision Lab
What is the evidence that momentum is conserved in a two-dimensional collision? In what manner does the evidence support the law of momentum conservation?