Question

I need help figuring out what kinds of collisions we did in lab and what they should hypothetically be. All parts use 2 Vernier Encoder Standard Cart, unless stated otherwise. Cart I is always pushed towards Cart II's specified surface of collision and motion sensor is used to record on both sides.

"Classify each collision as elastic, inelastic, perfectly inelastic, or explosive."

Part I - Cart I: VES cart. Cart II: Vernier Dynamics Cart with plunger. The no velcro/magnetic end and the plunger of dynamics cart meet upon impact. I'm thinking this should be an "explosion" because the plunger is deployed once the carts hit.

Part II - Cart I: VES cart with magnet. Cart II: VES cart with magnet. They repel each other without touching. I'm really confused about this one - is it elastic because KE is/was conserved?

Part III - Cart I: VES cart with magnet. Cart II: VES cart with plunger/no velcro.

Part IV - Carts I and II: VES cart with velcro. They stuck together upon collision, thus it's a perfectly inelastic collision.

Thank you so much for your help in advance!

Answer 1

Cart I $\rightarrow$ always pushed towards

Cart II $\rightarrow$ specified surface of collision and motion sensor

"Classify each collision as elastic, inelastic, perfectly inelastic or explosive."

Part I - Cart I : VES cart. Cart II : Vernier Dynamics Cart with plunger.

Explosive

(conservation of momentum for two carts pushing away from each other with the plunger of the dynamics cart completely retracted)

Part II - Cart I : VES cart with magnet. Cart II : VES cart with magnet.

Elastic collisions

(two dynamic carts with magnet that repel one another)

Part III - Cart I : VES cart with magnet. Cart II : VES cart with plunger/no velcro.

Explosive

(if we placed magnets on the end of the Plunger cart, the magnets must be placed in the same orientation of polarity as the magnets in the collision cart or they will attract rather than repel during collisions)

Part IV - Carts I and II : VES cart with velcro.

Perfectly inelastic collision

(if both carts have the same masses and speeds, then they will both come to rest after they hit the Velcro pads)