Question

For a Ballistic Pendulum Lab;

Describe in words how you used the equations for constant acceleration in this lab. Show how you derived the result.

Answer 1

Ans)

Ballistic pendulum:

In this lab we use conservation of energy and momentum to determine the velocity

Of a projectile fired into a pendulum and compare it to the velocity determined by looking

at the trajectory of the projectile when it is launched across the room.

Since acceleration is the rate of the change of the velocity ,it follows that if

the mas is constant force must be the rate of change of momentum.

When two objects collide they exert equal and opposite forces on each other.

This means that their changes in momentum must be equal and opposite to each other.

As long as there is no net externally applied force the momentum of the system must be a constant .this can be illustrated for an inelastic collision.

Suppose that before the collision one object ,with massm1 is moving with velocity v_o.

It strikes a second ,initially stationary,mass,m2,after the collision they stick together and move with the same speed,v(1+2).the momentum before the collision is given by

p_initial=m1v1

since there are no external forces acting during the instant of collision ,

conservation of momentum requires that m1v0=(m1+m2)v(1+2).