Air Pucks

This equipment can be used to show Newton's Laws, momentum, and collisions. The pucks glide with minimal friction so they can be used to demonstrate many different phenomenon. The pucks have bumpers so they can be used to show elastic and inelastic collisions.

* Equipment seen in the video may vary from equipment used in ND Demonstrations. See information and images below for ND equipment and setup.

Setup:

Place the pucks on the demo table.

Turn the pucks on using the switch on the bottom.

The pucks can be pushed toward each other or one set still and the other pushed towards it to show collisions.

Notes:

To show Newton's First law, place the puck on the table and give it a push to show it will continue unless acted upon by another force.

Discussion and Polling Questions:

• In a head-on collision, why will one puck never go away at an angle? Why must both go off at an angle in order for us to get 2D motion?

• When they are of equal mass, a head on collision with a stationary puck stops the first puck. Would increasing the speed change this?

Equipment Needed:

• Two Air Pucks

• Webcam (optional)