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Exploding Carts

This document analyzes an explosion that propels two carts in opposite directions. It provides data on the masses and velocities of the carts before and after explosions of different scenarios. It asks questions about momentum and velocities to determine principles governing such explosions, like momentum conservation. The key findings are that total system momentum is conserved before and after the explosion, and the ratio of post-explosion velocities is inversely proportional to the ratio of masses.

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Yogi Agarwal
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
2K views

Exploding Carts

This document analyzes an explosion that propels two carts in opposite directions. It provides data on the masses and velocities of the carts before and after explosions of different scenarios. It asks questions about momentum and velocities to determine principles governing such explosions, like momentum conservation. The key findings are that total system momentum is conserved before and after the explosion, and the ratio of post-explosion velocities is inversely proportional to the ratio of masses.

Uploaded by

Yogi Agarwal
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactive http://www.physicsclassroom.

com

Exploding Carts Interactive

Purpose:
To analyze the explosion that propels two stationary carts in opposite directions in an
effort to determine some guiding physics principles that describe such explosions.

Data: velocity
Mass of Mass of Post-Explosion Post-Explosion
Red Cart Blue Cart Speed of Red Speed of Blue velocity
(kg) (kg) Cart c(m/s) Cart (m/s)
c
a. 1.50 1.50 0.20 -0.20

b. 1 2 0.30 - 0.15

c. 1.5 0.5 0.20 - 0.60

d. 1.5 2 0. 20 -0.15

e. 2 2 0.15
-0.15
f. 2 1 0.15 -0.3

g. 2 1.5 0.15 -0.2

h. 1.5 1.5 0.2 -0.2

Use the collected data to answer the following questions.


Questions:
Situations involving collisions and explosions are usually thought of in terms of the
individual objects and in terms of the collection or combination of objects. The
combination of two or more objects is referred to as the system. In this case, the
system is best thought of as the red cart and the blue cart combined.

1. What is the individual momentum of the red cart before the explosion?

before explosion=0*mass=0
2. What is the individual momentum of the blue cart before the explosion?

momentum=1.5*-0.2=-0.3

3. What is the combined momentum of the system of two carts before the explosion?

Momentum=0*mass=0

©The Physics Classroom, All Rights Reserved This document should NOT appear on other websites.
From The Physics Classroom’s Physics Interactive http://www.physicsclassroom.com

4. Consider three trials above. Pick whatever three you wish as long as the ratio of
m /m is different for the three that you pick. For each trial, calculate the post-
red blue

explosion momentum of each individual cart. Show your work in the table cells.
Trial Post-Explosion Momentum Post-Explosion Momentum
of Red Cart (kg•m/s) of Blue Cart (kg•m/s)

ab

5. How do the direction of these two post-explosion momentum vectors compare?


opposite directions
6. Use your answer to question #4, your answer to question #5, and the fact that
momentum is a vector quantity to determine the post-explosion momentum of the
system of two carts (i.e., the vector sum of the momentum of the two carts).
0.3-0.3=0

7. Use your answers to question #3 and question #6 to explain how one can say that
system momentum is conserved in an explosion?
as 0=0, momentum is conserved

8. Pick three different trials that have a different mass ratio. For each trial that you
pick, fill in the table below.

Trial m /m
red blue v /v
red blue

a 1 -1

b 0.5 -2
c 3 -0.33

9. Analyze the data in the table above. State a rule that describes how to predict the
relative velocities of the two carts after the explosion.

©The Physics Classroom, All Rights Reserved This document should NOT appear on other websites.

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