Purpose: The purpose of this lab was to learn about two different types of collisions: elastic and inelastic. In an elastic collision two objects will collide and bounce off of each other. They will have equal but opposite force. In an inelastic collision two objects will collide and then stick together instead of going different directions.
Equation for momentum: p=mv
Big Question: Which is better conserved, momentum or energy?
We can conclude that total momentum is better conserved by looking at our data. The numbers are closer together than the stats for kinetic energy. This is because kinetic energy can be transferred into heat and sound, but momentum remains the same.
Real World Connection: A car crash is an example of an inelastic collision. When the cars connect both feel the same amount of force but the car with the greater mass will push the smaller car farther away.
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