Laws Of Motion And Momentum

Question 1

What is Newton’s first law?

Answer 1

An object which is stationary or in motion will remain in that state unless acted upon by an external resultant force

Question 2

What is Newton’s second law?

Answer 2

F=(mv-mu)/t
The resultant force on an object is directly proportional to the rate of change of momentum. If mass is constant, this becomes
F=ma

Question 3

Describe an experiment to verify newtons 2nd law

Answer 3

Equipment:
- Trolley
- Smooth ramp (sloped)
- Light gates
- Single interrupt card
- Pulley
- Masses
- Balance
-Measure the mass of the trolley
-Slope the ramp so that the friction and weight cancel out, the only force acting is the mass at the end of the pulley
-Set up the light gate and place single interrupt card on the trolley so that it will pass through the light gate when released
-Mark a starting point on the ramp
-Hold trolley at starting point at rest and release without adding any extra force
-Calculate the acceleration from the light gate values
-Repeat experiment and calculate an average
-Move masses from end of pulley onto trolley to keep mass constant and repeat experiment again
-Plot a graph of force against acceleration. The graph should produce a directly proportional straight line of which the gradient is the mass.
-Compare the value calculated to the true value

Question 4

What happens during an elastic collision?

Answer 4

The total kinetic energy of the system is conserved and remains constant.

Question 5

What happens during an inelastic collision?

Answer 5

Total kinetic energy is not conserved. Some energy is lost to other forms such as thermal energy