Objective Elastic and inelastic collision experiments are performed to gain an understand of the force integral as the cause

of the change in momentum of an object. An impulse approach to collision suggests ways to increase survivability in a car accident. These strategies are tested in simple air bag. Description When an external force is applied to an object, that object will accelerate. A more fundamental way of relating an external fore to the motion of an object is to equate the external force to the change in momentum of the object. This, one find the hence in momentum of the objects is equal to the time integral if the force which is called the impulse. For a given change in momentum of an object, the maximum force applied to the object can be carried by changing the length of time the collision occurs. This has important implications, since for example, in a car crash, the maximum force that one sustains relates to the severity of the injuries. This, by increasing the time that this change in momentum takes place ( in bringing an accident victim to zero velocity), the greater the survivability. This lengthening of the time of the collision is achieved through seat belts, crumple zones in the front end of the vehicle, and air bags. Building a vehicle extremely strong and rigid would result in the opposite effect, a car far more dangerous to the driver. Equipment: Froce sensor Position sensor Weight String Rubber bands Collision car Track weight scale Pressure sensor Theory Impulse J produced from time t1 to t2 is defined to be (1) where F is the force applied from t1 to t2. From second law of Newton force is related to momentum p by (2)

Therefore

where p is the change in momentum from time t1 to t2. This is often called the impulsemomentum theorem. As a result, an impulse may also be regarded as the change in momentum of an object to which a force is applied. The impulse may be expressed in a simpler form when both the force and the mass are constant: .(3) Impulse can be calculated using the equation .(4) Where F is the constant total net force applied, t is the time interval over which the force is applied, m is the constant mass of the object, v1 is the final velocity of the object at the end of the time interval, and v0 is the initial velocity of the object when the time interval begins. Procedure Three collision were performed with the light spring and two collision with a heavier spring. The weight of the car was measured with a scale. The light spring was installed The software was started acquiring the necessary data for the experiment The collision region on the velocity graph was highlighted and scaled The initial velocity and the final celocity were adquired The results were printed The magnitude of the change in momentum were calculated for each run

Collation with an airbag A bag air was inflated by blowing air into the bag ising a straw with the zipper open An ideal airp bag collision would bring the cart to rest without giving it a recoil The data was acquired using specific software. The results were printed. Two collisions with the air bag removed were performed.

Discussion In this lab, collisions were studied by exploring the relationship between the forces experienced by an object and its momentum change. It was shown mathematically from Newtons laws and experimentally from our own observations that the change in momentum of an object is equal to a quantity called impulse. Impulse takes into account both the applied force at each instant in time and the time interval over which this force acts. Since interactions like collisions and explosions never involve just one object, we turn our attention to the mutual forces of interaction between two or more objects. This will lead us to a very general law known as Newtons third law, which relates the forces of interaction exerted by two objects on each other. This will in turn lead us to one of the most important laws of interactions between objects, the conservation of momentum law. For the first part of this lab, the light spring was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .52 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.08 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 0.61 Newtons/seconds during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.61 kg m/s. This is a 0% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.61 N. For the second trial, the light spring was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .44 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.09 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 0.44 Newtons/seconds during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.5209 kg m/s.. This is a 2.13% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.51 N. For the third trial, the light spring was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .28 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.04 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 0.28 Newtons/seconds during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.321 kg m/s.. This is a 7% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.30 N. For the third trial, the light spring was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .28 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.04 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 0.28 Newtons/seconds during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.321 kg m/s.. This is a 7% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.30 N. For the third trial, the light spring was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .28 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.04 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 0.28 Newtons/seconds during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.321 kg m/s.. This is a 7% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.30 N.

For the fourth run we replaced the light spring with a heavier spring, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .56 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.06 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 15.78 Newtons during this event. Using p=mv2mv1, the change of momentum was 0.5996 kg m/s.. This is a 0.6% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.60 N. For the fifth trial, the heavy spring was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .31 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.04 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 8.30 Newtons during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.3452 kg m/s. This is a 1.52% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.34N. For the sixth run we replaced the light spring with no air bag, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .36 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.01 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 18.16 Newtons during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.3452 kg m/s.. This is a 3.63 % difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.33 N. For the seventh trial, no air bag was used, the apparatus was set up and released, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .68 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.03 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 35.52 Newtons during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.6239 kg m/s. This is a 9.45% difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.57N. For the eight run we used an air bag, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of .39 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.09 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 1.43 Newtons during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.2544 kg m/s.. This is a 6 % difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.24 N. For the last run we used an air bag, the cart from a set distance. The cart reached a velocity of 0.67 m/s. The carts made duration of impact was 0.5 seconds. The force sensor recorded a max force of 5.58 Newtons during this event. Using p=mv2-mv1, the change of momentum was 0.4240 kg m/s.This is a 3.41 % difference from the integrated impulse taken from data studio. Which was 0.41 N. Conclusion The impulse from integration taken from Data Studio, from each run is very close to each other. And the calculated change momentum is also very similar for each run. This shows that the impulse does not change when the duration of the impact changes. This is because momentum is only a function of mass and velocity. However the duration of the impact does change. This effects the denominator as well as the integrated bounds. As the denominator gets larger the force gets smaller, however the bounds get wider apart. Therefore the total area under the curve stays the

same. Of course the reverse is true for a growing denominator. The total force is the same in both cases, the max force is what changes. This lab gave a lot of examples of how momentum works with elastic and inelastic collisions. It demonstrated how masses and velocities played their roles as influences to the Conservation of Momentum, how it remains the same through its transfer from one cart to the next. It involved a lot of repeats and meticulous observation, but ultimately led to giving me a better idea of how momentum really works beyond reading the theory of it. Math problems dealing with the Conservation of Momentum were easier to grasp with each practice, and it was good to see a working example and observing the graphs and numbers with each trial. It was also very clear the change of force with and without an airbag. In one of the trials, we had a 9.13% difference. We believe that this was caused by two factors. We did not tare the force sensor between each run. This could lead to a miss measurement of force and would account for the doubled error for the stiffer spring. Also I think my partner did not release the cart from the same point on the track for that trial. The difference in the distance traveled would naturally cause the final velocity before impact to be different. This error is shown in the difference between the integrated impulse and the soft spring impulse. The max force that occurs during a collision is a function of the change in velocity over a change of time. The shorter the time span, the larger the force must be. Questions 1) Explain the physics of a car crash and how the crumple zone, safety belt, and air bag work in concert to increase the drivers survivability. Car crashes do not kill people, after this lab, it was learned that forces is what kill people. People die in car crashes because impact is very fast, and the force of impact too large. If the time of impact can be prolonged, then the acceleration and the force of impact can be reduced. This is because of Newton's 2nd Law of Motion

We can use the equation

to get

If we increase the time of impact, we can reduce the average force of impact and this will result in injuries that are less severe. There are three main ways to do this:

Crumple Zones: These are semi rigid structures at the front and back of the vehicle, which are designed to absorb energy and collapse slowly on impact. Seat Belts are an addition to the defense of the forces. They are designed to stop passengers becoming projectiles inside the car by restraining them in their seats. If rear passengers were not restrained they might kill passengers in the front seat by impacting them from behind, as well as seriously injuring themselves. If front seat passengers were not restrained they could impact the dashboard/steering wheel/windscreen, which are all rigid and will cause serious injury. The final line of defence is air bags. They are designed to inflate if subject to a force above a certain level. They then absorb as much of the kinetic energy of impact as possible when they are hit by a person. Gas is very compressible and very well suited to absorbing the energy of impact. 2) compare the average force experienced by a 60kg person moving at 34 km/h (20mph) being stopped in a distance of 2 cm in one case or 40cm in the other case ( e.g. the effective distance due to the crumple zone and air bag) 34 km/hr = 9.44 m/s vf^2 = vi^2 + 2ad 0^2 = (9.44m/s)^2 + 2 (a) (.02 m) a = 2229.94 m/s^2 (for padded dashboard) f = ma f = (60kg) (2229.94m/s^2) f = 133796N 0^2 = (9.44m/s)^2 + 2 (a) (.40m) a = 111.50 m/s^2 (for air bag) f = ma f = (60kg) (111.50m/s^2) f = 6689.8N A 60kg person experiences an average stopping force about 133796 / 6690 = 20 times larger when stopped in the shorter distance. Therefore, This person is more likely to be injured. 3) If a pressure sensor were incorporated in the experiment, a similar profile to the force impulse should be recorded. Since no crumple zone is included, the air bag must dissipate all the energy in the collision. If p is the overpressure during the collision and V is the volume of vented air, the dissipated energy should be given by the integral: p dV

Which would be the area under the pressure vs volume graph. Choose the air bag collision with highest initial velocity. Assume all kinetic energy is dissipated by the air bag and the average overpressure is 850 pascal. what volume of air (m^3) was pushed out of the bag? K = 1/2 m v^2 K = 1/2 (60kg) (9.44m/s)^2 K = 2675.93 J E = p dV 2675.93 N*m = (850 N/m^2) (dV) dV =3.148 m^3 Volume of air vented out dV =3.148 m^3 For the experiment in our lab: K = 1/2 m v^2 K = 1/2 (0.6751Kg) (0.67m/s)^2 K = 0.1515 J E = p dV 0.1515 N*m = (850 N/m^2) (dV) dV =1.78 cm^3 Volume air vented from the zip bag was 1.78 cm^3

Physics 95.141 Section 801 Impulse and momentum in Collisions

JULIAN MONTOYA ZAPATA

Partner(s): Billy Shin Date Performed: November 12 , 2012