Impulse Lab

In this week's lab, we performed a collision to determine the relationship between force, distance, and time. First, we attached our force probe and zeroed it. Then, we performed a collision between the red cart and the aluminum ring and found the momentum and measured the velocity before and after the collision. We found the velocity before to be 0.2625 m/s and after to be -0.2997 m/s. We measured our force as -.2100 N. Below is an image of our data in LoggerPro:

Through our data and class discussion, we came to the conclusion that impulse is the area of a force vs. time graph. In a collision, the momentum changes because of the impulse, measured in NxS (or force x time). No matter the mass, there is always an equal and opposite force--in any collision. When you increase time, force is always decreased. We found the equation for impulse to be J= Pf - Pi, or impulse= final momentum - initial momentum. Below is an image of our white board:

Real World Connection:

In the real world, the physics behind bowling relate to momentum and impulse. When the bowling ball comes in contact with the pins, a collision takes place. The momentum of the ball, however, changes because of the impulse. The article below further explains this theory:
http://www.topendsports.com/sport/tenpin/physics.htm