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Activity Momentum

The document summarizes three experiments on momentum. The first experiment uses marbles of different sizes rolling down a ruler to show that larger marbles and marbles released from a greater height have more momentum. The second experiment drops a basketball and racquetball together to demonstrate that objects can transfer momentum through collisions. The third experiment compares how a toy truck rolls down a ramp when its bed is empty versus full of rocks, finding the full truck is harder to stop due to greater momentum.

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judith cue
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374 views3 pages

Activity Momentum

The document summarizes three experiments on momentum. The first experiment uses marbles of different sizes rolling down a ruler to show that larger marbles and marbles released from a greater height have more momentum. The second experiment drops a basketball and racquetball together to demonstrate that objects can transfer momentum through collisions. The third experiment compares how a toy truck rolls down a ramp when its bed is empty versus full of rocks, finding the full truck is harder to stop due to greater momentum.

Uploaded by

judith cue
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
  • Experiment 1: Momentum and Marbles: Describes the setup and process of a momentum experiment using marbles, books, and a ruler to visualize physical properties.
  • Experiment 3: Heavy Truck: Explores the concept of momentum with a heavy truck model, using different weights to illustrate momentum changes.
  • Experiment 2: Transfer Some Momentum!: A simple experiment to demonstrate momentum transfer using a ball and a basketball, enhancing understanding of momentum concepts.

Experiment 1: Momentum and Marbles

The first experiment we did was from a book called “Force and Energy” from Instructional Fair. This
book appears to be out of print.

Supplies needed:

Two marbles – one small and one large

A ruler with a groove in the middle

A couple of thick hardback books

An index card

Masking tape

First, set up the ruler on top of one book as shown:

Fold the index card in half so that it stands up (see picture). The idea is that the marble will roll down
the ruler and bump the card. The farther the index card moves, the more momentum the marble has.
Use tape to make a line so that you can line up the index card in the same spot each time.

Next, prop the ruler up on two books. Roll the same marble down the ruler. Did the card get pushed
farther? It should, because the marble is now rolling faster.

Next, lower the ruler to just one book again. This time, roll the large marble down the ruler instead of
the smaller one. How do your results compare to the other two options?
I had Aidan make a chart for his results. We did three trials on each of the three set-ups. Then, I
showed him how to average the results. We found that the marble rolling down from the height of one
book has the least momentum. Stacking two books or using the large marble increased the momentum
by an almost equal amount.

Experiment 2: Transfer some Momentum!

This next experiment came from Bill Nye the Science Guy, but I can’t remember if it was in a book or on
the show! This demonstration is so simple, and super fun. Objects can transfer momentum (energy) to
other objects.

To transfer some momentum, hold a small ball (we used a raquet ball) on top of a basketball and drop
them together:

The basketball will hit the ground first, and as it bounces back up, it will transfer momentum to the
raquet ball. Since the raquet ball has so much less mass than the basketball, it will fly upward with much
greater velocity!

This is the fun of homeschooling – sending balls flying across your yard in the middle of the day and
being able to call it school!

Experiment #3: Heavy Truck

I didn’t get a picture of this one! Our third experiment with momentum was to explore how a heavy
vehicle behaves. We set up the same ramp that we used for our friction experiment. Then we tested a
toy dump truck on the ramp. First, we rolled the truck down the ramp with the bed empty, and then we
filled it with rocks and tried it again. The truck rolled about the same distance both times (even though I
knew it had more momentum with the bed full of rocks), so I tried having the boys sit at the end of the
ramp and catch the truck. They could definitely feel a difference in how difficult it was to stop the
moving truck when the bed was full of rocks!

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