Mass, Acceleration, & Collisions
What affects the magnitude of the damage in a collision: the speed at which a vehicle is travelling or the mass of the vehicle?
Essential Question: How does an object’s mass affect its change in motion during a collision?
Speed plays a greater role in the amount of damage produced by a collision than mass.
Phenomenon
Using the video below, how do the speeds compare for each ball that is flicked? They are flicked with the same amount of force. What do you notice happen to each ball and why do you think that happened? Can you make a connection between the mass of the objects and the way the move?
Same Force applied to ball objects DEMO.mov
Articles
Labs
Lab: Ping-Pong and Golf Ball Lab
Ping Pong and Golf Ball Lab.movLab: Car Crash
Car Crash Lab Video.mov
Lab: Newton's 3rd Law
Newton's 3rd Law with Spring Scales 2018-2019.movWatch the video to complete the lab. Pause the video when the camera zooms in on the measurements. It may be a bit hard to read, but you should be able to see it and write it down.
In the first part, the student on the left pulls on the spring scale while the student on the right stays completely still. What are the readings?
In the second part, both students are pulling at the same time. What is the reading on both scales now!?
Lab: Pool Ball Collisions
Pool Ball Collisions Version 2.movBalloon Activity
Third Law MiniLab with Balloon.MOVWhy is the balloon moving across the string?
How can we use Newton's Third Law to explain this?
