Worksheets
Worksheet Solutions – Collisions
Sections
Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
Car Collisions and Crash Tests
Elastic and Inelastic Collisions
This is what happens to aluminum when hit by a 1/2 oz (14g) piece of plastic going 15,000 mph (24,000 km/h). Was this an elastic collision, an inelastic collision, or a perfectly inelastic collision?
Newtons Cradle in Slow Motion | Make Science Fun (1:29)
Watch as the teacher demonstrates the classroom Newton’s cradle.
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- When the balls collide, is it an elastic collision, an inelastic collision, or a perfectly inelastic collision?
- In a ideal Newton’s cradle, would the collisions be elastic collisions, inelastic collisions, or a perfectly inelastic collisions?
Golf Ball into Steel Plate at 150 mph and 70,000 fps (0:29)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkB81u5IM3I
Kid vs. Rotating Arm
https://i.imgur.com/8CJNwUI.gifv
In the next video, notice how the horizontal momentum is conserved as the two bullets stop.
Colliding Bullets Together in Slow Motion – Ballistic High-Speed (23:51 – watch from 16:20 to 18:00)
David Belenzon – Michael Moschen Performs the Triangle (6:15)
Car Collisions and Crash Tests
Two cars, both the same size and each traveling at 50 miles per hour (mph), crash into each other head-on. Is this the equivalent of running into a wall at 50 mph, or 100 mph? Use the concepts of impulse and momentum to justify your answer.
How much more kinetic energy does a car traveling at 100 mph have compared to the same car traveling at 50 mph?
Mythbusters – Scale Model of Car vs. Car and Car vs. Wall (7:41)
MythBusters – Car vs. Wall (9:54 – start at 7:06)
MythBusters – Car vs. Car (3:32)
As you watch the following video, how does the newer car help protect the passenger compared to the old car?
2009 Chevy Malibu vs 1959 Bel Air Crash Test | Consumer Reports (1:57)
Euro NCAP 20 years of crash testing – Honda Jazz vs Rover 100 Comparison (2:03)
School Bus Crash Test (0:30)
Head On Train Wreck! Staged Wreck from 1930’s (0:37)
Safety Barriers
Bollards are used to protect against ramming by a car. They are used in government buildings, army bases, gas stations and many other places.
The 1983 bombing of US and French troops in Beirut was partially caused by the lack of bollards protecting the embassy.
Safety Barrier – Bollard (2:22 – start at 0:50)
Safety Barrier – n-Shaped (2:09)
Safety Barrier – Wedge (1:24)
Big Sandy Impact Attenuator Sand Barrel – TrafFix Devices (5:56 – watch first 0:40 only)
CrashGard® Sand Barrel System (0:46 – watch 0:33 to 0:40)
One of the contributing factors to Princess Diana’s death was the lack of guardrails alongside the pillars of the Pont de l’Alma Tunnel in Paris.
In a gymnastics foam pit, the foam blocks increasing the time of impact, and reduce the peak force experienced by the gymnast when they land.
Best Gymnastics – Testing the New Pit Foam (0:09)
3Blue1Brown – Why Do Colliding Blocks Compute Pi?
Derrick Henry, a 115 kg football running back, is very difficult to tackle.
Derrick Henry High School Highlights (3:04)