Momentum science experiment help

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on a ninth-grade science fair project involving a homemade marble shooter that uses a rubber band to propel marbles of varying weights towards a book. The primary goal is to measure the momentum of the marble upon impact. Key factors include the mass of the marble and its initial velocity, which is challenging to measure accurately due to friction and the elasticity of the impact. Ultimately, the consensus is that this experimental setup may not effectively demonstrate the concept of momentum.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of basic physics concepts, specifically momentum.
  • Familiarity with the principles of elasticity and friction.
  • Knowledge of measuring mass and velocity in a physics context.
  • Basic skills in conducting and documenting scientific experiments.
NEXT STEPS
  • Research methods for accurately measuring momentum in experiments.
  • Explore the effects of friction on moving objects in physics.
  • Learn about elastic and inelastic collisions in physics.
  • Investigate alternative experimental setups to demonstrate momentum effectively.
USEFUL FOR

This discussion is beneficial for high school students, particularly those involved in science fairs, as well as educators looking for practical examples of momentum and its measurement in physics experiments.

Illumination
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Hello, I am a ninth grade student in high school and I have a science fair project experiment idea. There will be a homemade marble shooter made with a rubber band. the rubber band will be pulled about half of a foot back and will propel a marble through a tube. the marble will hit a book and the marble's momentum will cause it to roll back. The distance of away from the book to the marble shooter will be a foot. The levels of independent variable will be marbles with completely different weights. This experiment will be used to find out momentum. How do I calculate do momentum for this experiment. Remember I am a ninth grader so please don't get too technical.
 
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Illumination said:
the marble's momentum will cause it to roll back.
No, the elasticity of the impact with the book will make the marble roll back.
If it rolls back very little, nealy all the momentum has been imparted to the book, making it move a bit. But to find the momentum we need its mass and how fast it started moving. This is difficult because the speed will be small and very quickly fall to zero due to friction.
In short, this is not an effective way to find momentum.
 
Illumination said:
Remember I am a ninth grader so please don't get too technical.
Now that you're a freshman in college we should be able to discuss this on a more technical level. :)

P.S. Welcome to Physics Forums.
 

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