4/22 Collisions in Two Dimensions

Purpose: Look at two-dimensional collision and determine if momentum and energy are conserved.

Procedure:

FIGURE (1)

We started with the set up shown in FIGURE(1), and we connected the computer to the camera and adjusted the settings accordingly. We then set a steel ball in the center of the table and collided an aluminium ball with the one in the middle while capturing video (shown to the right) for one trial and another steel ball for the next trial. We used LoggerPro to track the movement and collision of the balls (FIGURE (2)).
Once we had the graphs of the collision we could figure out whether or not momentum and energy were conserved.



FIGURE (2)


Conclusion:
Sources of error in this lab could come from a few places. We were not one hundred percent sure that the table was exactly level, so if it was unleveled that could affect out measures. The camera that we used also distorts the image, so when the balls got to the edge of the frame, it was a less accurate reading of position. A third source of error is how well we tracked the balls' position. Since we were tracking the position by adding individual dots for each frame, it is likely that the dot was not in the exact center of the ball.