Conservation of Momentum

Prelab:

Please write the conservation equations in your derivation.

1) From the conservation equations for momentum and energy,

,

you will get

.

2) From

,

we get

.

3) For inelastic motion, the equation for conservation of momentum is,

.

Thus, the energy loss fraction is,

.

Lab:

Don't forget answering the questions in the assignment!

Uncertainty Sources:

1. Tilting of the track;

2. Rubber band is not perfectly converting the energy;

3. etc.

Bonus:

Google "linearize data" to discover more!

From

,

we let

,

then the first equation becomes

.

Take natural logarithm of both side, then you will get

.

If we take the transformation

,

then the relationship becomes

,

which is a linear relationship! Then you can use LINEST to estimate the coefficient.

(Note: Natural Logarithm can only be applied to non-negative values. In this case, when there's negative value, you can add a negative sign on both sides to make them non-negative!)