Answer to Question #141194 in Mechanics | Relativity for wqae

Question

Explain briefly how you would verify the principle of conservation of linear momentum by experiment.

Answer 1

To carry out the experiment, you need; runway, ticker tape, ticker timer, AC power supply, two trolleys with velco, meter stick and mass balance.

Procedure

1) Measure the mass of each trolley using the mass balance.

2) Place a trolley on the runway so that the velco faces down the ramp.

3) Attach the trolley to the ticker timer via ticker tape.

4) Tilt the track so that the trolley moves with constant velocity when pushed. This can be determined by the dots on the ticker tape being equally spaced.

5) Place the second trolley on the runway with the velco facing the ramp.

6) Push the trolley attached to the ticker timer so that it collides with the other trolley.

Note: The experiment should be as shown in the photograph attached.

Calculations

Calculate the momentum before interaction= M₁V₁+M₂V₂

Calculate the momentum after interaction= (M₁+M₂)v

Conclusion

If the momentum before interaction is approximately equal to the momentum after the interaction then the principle of conservation of momentum has been verified.