AP PHYSICS: Acceleration

An object that moves at a constant speed ( or velocity ) will continue doing so until it is acted upon by a force. Whether such an object speeds up or slows down after being impacted by a force, the change in motion is called an acceleration. Typically, a decrease in motion is referred toContinue reading “AP PHYSICS: Acceleration”

ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Elastic Collision Determination ( Part 2 )

Q: An elastic collision occurs between two objects of mass ( m1 ) and ( m2 ). Prior to the collision, mass ( m2 ) is stationary and approached by ( m1 ) with a velocity ( v1 ). If only the values of ( m1 ), ( m2 ), and ( v1 ) areContinue reading “ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Elastic Collision Determination ( Part 2 )”

ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Elastic Collisions and the Center of Mass Velocity ( Part 1 ) 

A system’s center of mass is the location where the average mass distribution of the system is located. Consider a system in which two equal masses rest at the ends of a balance: The sum of torques acting upon the system is zero, and it will remain in static equilibrium until acted upon by anContinue reading “ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Elastic Collisions and the Center of Mass Velocity ( Part 1 ) “

ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Final Velocity of Target and Projection After Elastic Collision ( Part 1 )

Q: Within a given system, a projectile moves with a constant velocity ( v1 ) prior to colliding with a stationary target of equal mass ( m1 = m2 ). Since the system is isolated from outside forces, momentum ( p ) and kinetic energy ( KE ) both are conserved during the collision. (Continue reading “ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Final Velocity of Target and Projection After Elastic Collision ( Part 1 )”

ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: What is the final velocity of the hovering disk?

Q: A disk of mass 0.5 kg slides with a constant velocity of 2.4 m/s over an air table before colliding with an elastic band. If the band exerts an average force of 1.4 Newtons on the disk for 1.5 seconds, what is the final velocity of the disc? A1: The disc will experience aContinue reading “ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: What is the final velocity of the hovering disk?”

ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Stacked Ball Drop, Impulse, and the Galilean Transformation

Q: Three balls of mass m1, m2, and m3 fall together towards the earth. They accelerate until impact, and once the three-ball system collides elastically with the earth’s surface, the balls within the system approach one another with an instantaneous velocity ( v ). The momentum ( p = mv ) = ( m1 +Continue reading “ENERGY AND MOMENTUM: Stacked Ball Drop, Impulse, and the Galilean Transformation”