Lesson 13 Part 1 - Colliding Particles

Last updated about 1 year ago

9 questions

Lesson 13 Part 1 - Colliding Particles

Last updated about 1 year ago

9 questions

Water Experiment

What happens to the speed of particles in a liquid when the temperature drops?

How about when the temperature goes up?

What were some things that seemed to cause changes in speed for a single particle as it moved about?

Molecule Simulation

Let's revist the simulation briefly to explore our question about changes in speed and direction of an individual particle and what could be causing them.

Watch one particle closely and consider what you see happening to its motion over time. 

It's really hard to tell what is happening to two particles in a collision with so many particles in the simulation. Let's watch what happens to the particle speed with just a few particles in the simulation. I will load a different version where the box is smaller and we are zoomed in closer. 

When the speed of one particle decreased in a collision, what happened to the other particle it collided with?

When the speed of one particle increased in a collision, what happened to the speed of the other particle it collided with?

Marble Experiment

Is this what happens in a real collision? Would we see this same type of thing with 2 particles that weren't in a computer simulation? Let's say we used marbles in place of a computer simulation-- would we see the same sort of pattern in a collision? 

Teacher Demonstration - Investigate Changes in Particle Motion in Colliding Marbles

Marble Experiment #1 - Rolling 2 marbles into each other along a tray. Draw what happens and show how SPEED changes.

Marble Experiment # 2 - Rolling 1 marble into a cluster of marbles. Draw what happens and show how SPEED changes.

Marble Experiment # 3 - Rolling 1 marble into a cluster of marbles with a layer of magnetic marbles in between. Draw what happens and show how SPEED changes.

Apply what you just did to the particles of matter in our previous cup experiments. We put room-temperature water inside a cup and surrounded it with cold water. The cold water outside the cup increased in temperature and the room-temperature water inside the cup decreased in temperature. What did you figure out today about particle collisions that could help explain these temperature changes?