Directions: Use the information provided and your knowledge of Physical Science to answer the following questions. Show all work where necessary.
Directions: Use the information provided and your knowledge of Physical Science to answer the following questions. Show all work where necessary.
Source: https://pressbooks.bccampus.ca/universityphysicssandbox/chapter/conservation-of-linear-momentum/
Students roll a toy car into a stack of wooden blocks at slow, medium, and fast speeds.
They observe:
At slow speed, only one block moves slightly.
At medium speed, a few blocks fall over.
At fast speed, blocks scatter across the table.
Students wonder:
How can changing the car’s speed help us ask questions and predict the outcomes of the collision?
When an object is moving, it has motion energy. The faster it moves, the more motion energy it has. When the toy car crashes into the stack of blocks, the car’s motion energy is transferred to the blocks during the collision. This energy transfer is what causes the blocks to move or fall over.
At a slow speed, the car has only a small amount of motion energy, so it can barely move a block. At medium speed, it has more energy to transfer, so more blocks tip over. At fast speed, the car has the greatest amount of motion energy. As a result, the blocks may fall, slide, or scatter farther across the table.
Energy is conserved during the collision: the motion energy does not disappear - it moves from the car into the blocks and becomes their motion, sound, and small amounts of heat from friction. Students can measure how many blocks fall and how far they move to help them ask and answer questions such as: If the car goes faster, how many blocks will fall? How far will they travel?
Car Speed | Blocks Knocked Over | Average Distance Blocks Move (cm) |
|---|---|---|
Slow | 1 | 4 |
Medium | 3 | 11 |
Fast | 6 | 22 |
Which car speed results in the greatest changes to the stack of blocks during the collision?
Look at Table 1. How do the number of blocks knocked over and the average distance the blocks move change as the car’s speed increases?
Using Figure 1 and Figure 2, what pattern do you observe between car speed and the effects of the collision?
Explain why the car moving at slow speed only knocks over one block and moves it a short distance.
Which piece of evidence best supports the idea that greater energy causes greater effects during a collision?
How does changing the speed of the toy car help you make predictions about what will happen during the collision with the blocks?
Respond using Claim, Evidence, and Reasoning.