Snow Day #4(?) Conservation of Momentum

Upon hearing the news that my fourth snow day assignment would involve demonstrating conservation of momentum with some outdoor activity, the idea of analyzing the motion of an inflatable green ball as it is thrown came to me. Enjoy the following video depicting the partially inelastic collision between the ball and me.

Using logger pro, I was able to determine that the ball's average initial velocity (before collision) in the x direction was on average equal to 6.86 m/s. I chose to ignore the y velocity because I have not yet been equipped with the skills to discuss two-dimensional momentum, but I will say that it was rather low; almost insignificant. The following graph shows the ball's velocity in the x direction before and after the collision, which occurred at approximately time t=0.235 seconds.

The equation that represents conservation of momentum is m1vi1+m2vi2=m1vf1+m2vf2, and I (mass 2) remained stationary throughout the duration of the collision. The final velocity of the ball was approximately -3.5 m/s. Therefore, the equation in this instance looks like this: 5.60=-2.856. Unfortunately due to some error in my data collection, I was unable to effectively model the conservation of momentum in this instance. Specifically, I failed in showing conservation of momentum because I did not remain completely stationary during the duration of the collision, and I was unable to calculate my velocity using logger pro. However, I can calculate a ballpark number for the amount of kinetic energy lost during the collision by subtracting the final and initial values of 1/2mv^2:

4.998-19.2=-14.2

This equation tells us that roughly 14.2 joules of kinetic energy were lost during the collision.

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