Day 35: Began the Conservation of Momentum experiment.

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Today, we began to modify our next experiment: Conservation of Momentum. This experiment was previously done using a timer, PASCO linear air track, air pump and some gliders, which didn't produce expected results. In this experiment, students are asked to glide several gliders on the air track and analyze the data upon the collisions. However, we noticed that the gliders currently being used for the experiment don't produce the expected results because they jump up slightly upon collision. Thus, we explored all the different gliders available to see which ones might be best to use.

Figure 1. The Air Track Gliders

Video 1. The collision between two yellow gliders moving toward each other.

Video 2. The collision between two black gliders (with rubber bands) moving toward each other.


To obtain even better measurements and results, we considered doing the experiment using the PASCO Capstone software. Similar to the Measurement of g experiment, we recorded several videos of different gliders sliding on the air track and recorded their collisions. In the next few days, we will analyze these videos and compare the results.

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