Lab # 06 Date: 2023/03/02nd Name of Student: Rianna Persaud

Title: Momentum
Aim: To verify the law of conservation of momentum.
Materials/Apparatus:
- Two spheres
- One length trunking
- Video camera
- Meter tape
Diagram:

Name of Teacher: Dominic Sunthgolam Page: __

Lab # 06 Date: 2023/03/02nd Name of Student: Rianna Persaud

Method:

- Step ‘1’: The mass of the spheres was measured and recorded.
- Step ‘2’: The trunking was set up with a small section in a slope and the rest remaining
flat.
- Step ‘3’: One of the spheres was placed at the end of the slope.
- Step ‘4’: The second sphere was held at the top of the slope and its starting point was
marked.
- Step ‘5’: The video camera was started to capture the entire trunking.
- Step ‘6’: The second sphere was released from its starting point.
- Step ‘7’: The point where the sphere had stopped was marked.
- Step ‘8’: The distance travelled by the second sphere before it collided with the first
sphere was measured and recorded.
- Step ‘9’: The distance travelled by both spheres after they collided was measured and
recorded.
- Step ‘10’: The amount of time the second sphere was moving before it collided was
determined using the video.
- Step ‘11’: The impact velocity of the second sphere was calculated.
- Step ‘12’: The total momentum before collision was determined.
- Step ‘13’: The amount of time the two spheres took to come to rest after they collided
was determined using the video.
- Step ‘14’: The initial velocity of the spheres after the impact was determined.
- Step ‘15’: The total momentum after the collision was determined.

Results:

TABLE SHOWING RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE EXPERIMENT

Sphere Mass Before Collision After Collision

Kg d(m) t(s) v p d(m) t(s) v p

‘1’ 0.0012 0.63 0.68 0.733 0.0009 0.583 1.4 0.4166 0.000499

‘2’ 0.0012 0 0 0 0 0.76 3.45 0.220 0.000864

Name of Teacher: Dominic Sunthgolam Page: __

Lab # 06 Date: 2023/03/02nd Name of Student: Rianna Persaud

Discussion:
The law of conservation of momentum states that the the total momentum before the collision
and after the collision is equal.
Impact velocity is the velocity (the distance an object moves in a unit of time, in a particular
direction) of an object when it collides with another object.
s
To calculate the impact velocity, the formula (where s= displacement and t= time) is used.
t
Impact velocity of second sphere before collision:
s
V=
t
0.63
=
0.86
= 0.733 m/s

Momentum(p) is a vector quantity relating to the mass and velocity of an object.

To calculate momentum, the formula p=mv (where m= mass and v= velocity) is used.
Total momentum before collision:
p=mv
= 0.0012 * 0.733
= 0.000880 kgms-1
Initial velocity (u) after the two spheres collided:
- Sphere ‘1’:
s
u=
t
0.58
=
1.4
= 0.414 m/s

p=mv
= 0.0012 * 0.414
= 0.000497 kgms-1
- Sphere ‘2’:
s
u=
t
0 .76
=
3.45

Name of Teacher: Dominic Sunthgolam Page: __

Lab # 06 Date: 2023/03/02nd Name of Student: Rianna Persaud

= 0.220 m/s

p=mv
= 0.0012 * 0.220
= 0.000264 kgms-1

Total momentum after collision=

= 0.000497 + 0.000264

= 0.000761 kgms-1

Limitations:
The weight of the spheres might have not been deduced accurately due to the scale not working
properly.

Source of Error:
Estimation error. The times for the spheres might have not been calculated/deduced accurately.

Conclusion:
It can be concluded that the law of conservation of momentum was verified.

Name of Teacher: Dominic Sunthgolam Page: __