Franny McLarty 7

Impulse-Momentum Lab Report

Purpose: The purpose of this lab is to prove the Impulse-Momentum Theorem with our own

experiment.

Impulse-Momentum Theorem:

Equipment:

Cart

Track

Photogates and data collector

Scale and ruler

Calculator

Pencil and paper

Procedure:

1. Measure the mass of the cart using the scale and write it down, make sure your

measurement is in kilograms. Measure the wing of the card in meters. Note that the

acceleration due to gravity on Earth is 9.8 m/s^2.

2. Set up your track vertically against a wall, making sure that when you insert the cart, it

doesnt scrape the wall.

3. Place one photogate near the top of the track, and one photogate near the bottom,

making sure that the cart can pass fully through each gate.
4. Set up the data collector to the photogates and run a test by dropping the cart from the

top and checking that Time A, Time B, and Time AB are all recorded correctly.

5. Create a data table for 3 trials to record Time A, Time B, and Time AB.

6. Run 3 trials by placing the cart at the top of the track, dropping it, and recording the

times.

7. After you have collected this data, take the average of the three trials to get an accurate

average for Time A, B, and AB.

8. Now that youve collected your data, you can use it to prove the Impulse-Momentum

Theorem.

9. First you have to calculate all the variables in the equation: Net Force (mass and

acceleration), Change in time, velocity initial, and velocity final.

10. We can calculate the Net Force on the cart by multiplying the mass of the cart by the

acceleration due to gravity. Your change in time will be Time AB.

11. Next you can calculate your velocity initial by using velocity=distance/time. You use the

distance of the wing of the cart and you use time A because that was the time at the top

of the track and the beginning of the run.

12. You can calculate your velocity final by using velocity=distance/time. You use the

distance of the wing of the cart and you use time B because that was the time at the

bottom of the track and then end of the run.

13. Finally you substitute all your known values into the equation for the Impulse-Momentum

Theorem and compare each side of the equation. One side being your Net Force x

change in time, and the other side is your change in momentum. These values should

be fairly close in order prove the Theorem. Calculate your percent error by picking one
 side of the equation to use as the actual value and the other to use as the experimental

value.

Diagram of Experimental Set-up:

Data Collection:

Mass of Cart = .331 kg

Wing Length = .05 m

Trial Time A (s) Time B (s) Time AB (s)

Trial 1 .055 .015 .291

Trial 2 .047 .014 .274

Trial 3 .047 .014 .273

Average .050 .014 .279

Data Analysis:

Conclusions:

Our results show the Impulse-Momentum Theorem with a small percent error. Our calculation

for one side of the equation, Net Force x change in time, was .905 Ns. Our calculation for the

other side of the equation, change in momentum, was .851 Ns. The Theorem states that these

two things should be equal, but our data is slightly off because our numbers where experimental

and therefore not completely accurate. One source of error for these inaccuracies could have

been our un-exact measurements of the mass of the cart and the wing length of the card. We

only measured these once and with simple tools like a scale and a ruler. Another source of error

could have been the data we collected. We only took three trials, and one of them seemed like
an outlier, which could have skewed our results. In order to improve our results, we could have

taken multiple measurements of the mass of the cart and of its wing length using more exact

tools. We could have also done more than three trials for collecting our time data. Doing these

things would probably yield a percent error that is less than 5%, which would be acceptable for

proving the Impulse-Momentum Theorem.